MBS News

Torn Between Buying Final Cut Pro or Final Cut Express?

2010-11-18T13:59:00.000-08:00

If you'd like to start editing video or purchase your own system for the first time, you have some decisions to make. Final Cut is a really solid choice of software. It's accessible enough to take on as a individual freelancer or beginner, yet rugged enough to satisfy the needs of an industry veteran.

At $999 ($949 through MBS), Final Cut Pro doesn't always fit a beginner's budget. Final Cut Express is a more affordable alternative at $199, with many of the same features as Final Cut Pro. But what's the difference? How do you know if you're making the right purchase?

Let's start with the basics.

Final Cut Pro is no longer sold separately. It comes bundled in Final Cut Studio, which mainly accounts for the $800 difference between Pro and Express.

If youʼre looking to do any in-depth video editing or you have a heavy workload, thereʼs no question that Final Cut Studio is the product for you. Itʼs a great collection of applications that really help you fine-tune your projects with color correction, sound mixing, special effects and so on. If you're not looking to take advantage of these applications, you might consider Final Cut Express, which is a standalone product.

Final Cut Express also lacks Batch Capture and Time Code display.

Batch capture is an important feature to editors who work with long-form projects and spend a significant amount of time ingesting footage. Final Cut Express lacks this feature. Batch capturing lets you mark in and out points on a tape using time code. Once youʼve marked your clips, you can start capture and let Final Cut Pro selectively capture just the parts you want.

Time code is also useful for syncing multiple cameras on the timeline. With Final Cut Pro you can embed a time code for easier reference when sharing with clients.

Final Cut Express is more limited in the video formats it supports. It can't handle true HD or ProRes footage. I like shooting with DSLR cameras, and I always have to go through a conversion process if I plan to edit the footage in Express. The important thing to note is that there are workarounds for format issues, but you want to avoid them if possible. The more passes you make in converting or compressing your footage, the more likely you are to reduce the image quality. Converting footage is also just, frankly, a huge time drain. If you're shooting HD regularly and using Final Cut Express, you definitely need a better workflow.

For those of you with an older version of Final Cut Express who are trying to decide whether to upgrade or go for the Studio, you should know that Express lost some functions since Final Cut Pro became bundled into Final Cut Studio.

For example, some of their LiveType effects are no longer available and require a separate plugin. Soundtrack is no longer included in lieu of Soundtrack Pro in Final Cut Studio.

This means you have fewer options with the sound design of your project, though you should be able to do some basic sound editing with no problem.

And finally, some important things to note:

1. There is no upgrade path from Final Cut Express to Final Cut Pro. They are seen as two separate products, so consider this when purchasing.

2. If you are currently editing a project in Final Cut Express and are considering Final Cut Pro, that project is upward compatible, meaning it can be opened, modified, and saved in any higher version of Final Cut. Keep in mind that this is a one way street. Make a copy for safety. Once you save it in Final Cut Pro, you can't reopen that project in Express or in a prior version of Pro.

To sum up, the major differences between Final Cut Express and Final Cut Pro are as follows:

1. Final Cut Studio includes Final Cut Pro, Soundtrack Pro, Color, Motion, Compressor, and DVD Studio Pro. Final Cut Express stands alone.

2. Final Cut Express does not Batch Capture.

3. Final Cut Express does not natively support ProRes or uncompressed HD. It does natively support Apple Intermediate Codec (AIC), HDV, and AVCHD, which are often adequate.

If you have any other questions about Final Cut or working around software limitations, feel free to call MBS at (301) 590-2555. We're happy to help you in making this important decision.

-Grace

Important Rules of Thumb Before You Upgrade

2010-10-25T14:33:00.000-07:00

Dear Valued Customers,

Before you install a new version of any software you've been using, it's always a good idea to back everything up.

This means pictures, video, music, and text, but it also means project-specific files, which vary depending on the application. The idea is that, if anything goes wrong, you could feasibly resort back to the previous version of your software without losing any data. It's best to use an external drive, or an internal drive that is separate from your main one. Don't rely on the new install to leave your old project files alone. If something goes wrong, that could be irreversible.

For example, installing the new iPhoto will erase old iPhoto files stored in the trash. Some people store files in the Trash as a sort of intermediary, thinking they might restore the files later. Make sure everything you are considering keeping is somewhere safe!

The best way to do a safe backup is through Apple's Time Machine. This method is automatic and comprehensive. First, make sure the drive you're backing up to has enough space. Then activate Time Machine by going into System Preferences, clicking the Time Machine icon, and selecting your Back Up Drive. You can custom select which types of files you want to back up if you need to.

Do this before any major change takes place on your computer. We don't want you to lose all your hard work!

Call us at (301) 590-2555 with any questions.

Capture, Refine, Print with Francis Hills

2010-10-13T07:06:00.001-07:00

Follow us on Twitter! @mbsdirect

Last week, MBS enjoyed a visit from fashion photographer, Francis Hills. He's been touring with Apple and sharing his workflow with local photographers and media professionals.
We had a great turnout at this event, and Francis brought creative energy to his presentation. As a working photographer, he was able to share his personal experience regarding the tools he uses throughout his workflow.

Francis took the attendees outside and demonstrated a live photo shoot with a volunteer. He covered tips for helping the subject relax and seem more natural.

He discussed file maintenance and the importance of using Apple Aperture's organizational and metadata features. He also covered the post production process of editing, as well as printing your photos at a professional level using the HP Designjet Series.

If you have any questions about any of these products or processes, MBS has some great in-house experts who can help you. Please don't hesitate to call (888) 354-0100.

Below are a few clips from his presentation. MBS frequently holds seminars like this , so keep checking our page at www.mbsdirect.com/events to stay up to date on our latest events, like the Digital Video Symposium on November 30th!

Final Cut User Group Reinitiated at MBS

2010-07-28T14:06:00.000-07:00

Exciting news for Final Cut User groupies! MBS has relaunched regular meetings for DC's crowd of Final Cut fans and aficionados. Sometimes we even bonus feature brand new technology for videographers everywhere, such as Canon's XF 305, which we demoed last week and now have available at the store.

Host and presenter Abba Shapiro answered a myriad of in-depth questions and explained the complex world of video codecs in understandable terms. We're currently taking questions to determine the topic of our next meeting. Attendees represent a wide range of professions and skill levels.

Membership is free and you don't need to be a member to come to the meetings. We just like to provide a place for professionals and creatives to meet each other and have their questions answered.

If you'd like to be notified of the next meeting, just shoot an email to grace.eyre@mbsdirect.com or follow us at @mbsdirect

Happy editing!

HD Video Post Workflow

2010-06-15T06:58:00.000-07:00

On June 9th, Mac Business Solutions and Apple co-hosted one of a series of recent free vents showcasing the latest features of Final Cut Studio and Final Cut Server. To some attendees, this was a great introduction. For the regular crowd, this presentation enhanced and cemented the complex structures of these applications. The latest version of Final Cut Studio is one of the most affordable full featured post-production programs on the market. For a large or growing media based business, Final Cut Server is the perfect solution for review and approval processes, without creating redundant files or inconsistent versions.

There is a lot to learn however, and one of Apple's Senior Engineers, Orlando Luna, spent the better part of a full day getting into the details.

Atempo engineer Steve D'Agostino and marketing rep Tim O'Neill finished up with their amazing backup and archiving solutions from Atempo. Software like Time Navigator and Digital Archive encompass far more than video data and work seamlessly with Final Cut Server.

Digital Archive in particular is designed to be forward-facing, with continual support for transferring data upward to the latest storage technology. This means you've got archiving stability for the next twenty years and beyond.

If backup and archiving are critical aspects of your business (and who doesn't need backup?), Atempo is worth checking out. Through Mac Business Solutions you'll benefit from the personalized consultation from both our technicians and the experts at Atempo. We work closely together, and this event was a great opportunity for introducing their solutions to the Mac Community.

The HD Video Workflow event was held in Apple's beautiful corporate offices in Reston, VA. It drew a crowd of about 80 people, and lunch was provided. Not a bad deal for free registration!

If you have any questions or want to know when the next event is, keep checking our event page or call 888-354-0100 to speak to someone about a specific request.

DSLR Workshop Program Initiated at MBS!

2010-04-21T13:16:00.000-07:00

Last March a group of intrepid photographers and entrepreneurs embarked on a three-day DSLR workshop with Jem Schofield, founder of the C47. Not quite sure what to expect, the group of ten strangers gathered on Friday night for a little mixer and introductions.

DSLR videography has provoked the genuine interest of filmmakers and photographers alike. Photographers are keen on the notion of new capabilities inherent in familiar hardware. They can translate their lighting and composition skills into a new medium, using tools they already know. Our first round of DSLR students discovered that areas like sound recording, scripting, and post production represented the newest territory. Many of them were interested in learning how to incorporate video services into their existing businesses. With a mixture of field practice and an expert instructor who could readily respond to class needs, students got a fully immersive education condensed into one workshop weekend.

"Hands-on is really a great way to find out what works, and how one might be able to apply this in my own work flow," says Ulf Wallin, an attendee who works as a creative photographer. "So much information out there really makes it hard to really distill it all when you have no background in video."

Ulf and Felicia test their new sound equipment on site.

Susan of Double Image Studio gets some shots for her fashion short.

Videographers have also fallen in love with DSLR capabilities. Cameras like the Canon 5D Mk II and the Canon 7D have completely revolutionized the look of digital video within a prosumer price range. These cameras can shoot true HD, progressive footage. With substantially larger sensors than a standard video camera, DSLRs are capable of capturing incredible color information and of distinguishing a shallower depth of field. This mimics the properties of a film camera and creates a beautiful, professional image with relative ease.

"I want to explore the artistic potential of very short documentary & narrative film," says program participant Felicia Lovelett, explaining why she took the workshop. "I have fallen in love with HD."

Jem Schofield talking with students as they pack up for the day.

This being the first workshop of its kind for MBS, we made sure to get plenty of feedback from the participants. Some, for example, believed the workshop should last a whole week. We are looking forward to organizing the next class. What do you think? Let us know what kind of experience you'd like to have!

The iPad

2010-02-18T13:30:00.000-08:00

When the iPad was announced January 27th, it was heralded as a revolution in computing. Yet as many were quick to point out, the iPad is essentially iPhone technology taken to the next level, with a multi-touch sensor, larger hard drive, higher quality graphics and a faster processor. The familiar look and design left the general audience wondering exactly what was so innovative about it.

The most significant revolutionary aspect of the iPad is more about user interface, in relating - as Apple does so well - the hardware to the human being. The design is practical and accessible in a physical sense. It works intuitively with the body and considers the lifestyle of the typical Apple user, a lifestyle which is always transitory yet always connected, plugged in to the Internet, to work, to entertainment and news.

The truth is that even the most powerful of iPhones is still sometimes uncomfortable for certain functions. Typing amounts to poking primly at the screen with your index finger, watching letters pop up one at a time. Reading on an iPhone may be fine for those accustomed to tiny text, but try to view it bigger and you have to pan left to right with every line. Websites which haven't been modified for the iPhone are often jumbled and clunky, which limits the ease of on-line viewing.

In the other direction, even the lightest of laptops - say, the Macbook Air - isn't truly designed for mobility. It still unfolds like a standard laptop, has no touch screen and no directional sensor. At first the difference may seem minute, but imagine trying to stand on a crowded train, reading the news on a Macbook Air. Imagine a doctor, running from patient to patient, constantly opening and closing the Macbook Air as she fills in charts with the keyboard alone. Imagine a journalist on the site of breaking news, worrying about battery life, hanging on to their laptop with the crook of one arm while taking notes with the other. The Macbook Air, like all laptops, is designed to be light and portable, that is, to be easily taken from site to site. They are clearly not designed to be a functioning tool in the time of need.

Steve Jobs introduced the iPad as a step between the iPhone and the laptop. This was not a superfluous move. Consider all of the computing needs that lie in that gap. Consider our increasingly wired world, the need to have information available to you no matter where you are, and consider that these days people are traveling more than they ever have before. With the iPad you have full access to the Internet and a touchscreen large enough for your hands. You have the ability to type and create documents in virtually any setting. A door has now been opened for all kinds of innovation in mobility, interactivity, individualization and the rapid dissemination of information where it is needed most.

Let's take a look at four fields that are already considering the iPad for their purposes.

Education:

In this January article of The Journal, McCrea makes a good point in saying that children today are already "hardwired" for the digital world. They possess a level of intuition about technology that surpasses even the most adaptable of adults. And why shouldn't they? It's a digital world they inherit. It's the responsibility of the school system to not only teach students the traditional subject matter, but to teach in such a way that foreshadows how they will receive information as adults.

And fear not for the livelihood of the flesh and blood teacher. If used effectively the iPad could save time and help teachers hone in on the needs of individual students. Imagine for example that the teacher conducts quizzes in real time. There could be a system of iPads put in "classroom mode", meaning they are all networked together but interaction between them is regulated by an administrator, in this case, the teacher. For example, if the teacher implemented a live quiz through the student' iPads, she would have immediate access to both aggregate and individual information. This information could be used to assess which areas need more review and which students need more help. Struggling students need no longer to fall through the cracks because of a teacher who is too overworked to notice.

This is one example, but the possibilities for education are endless. Textbooks could be kept more current. Schools would easily save money over time by purchasing iPads for their students along with a cheaper digital versions of books. Class activities such as surveys, presentations, and experiments could all benefit when facilitated by the iPad.

Gaming:

Gaming aficionados tend to consider the iPad as a secondary gaming device. With only mid-range hardware specs, it's more appealing for the potential of specialized apps and, again, user interface. With the multi-touch screen and motion sensors, the iPad provides gamers a more immersive experience. They can hold the game console and the screen in their hands, making it particularly well-suited for racing and first-person shooter games. Time will tell whether the market will really expand to make the iPod a viable contender in the world of gaming. However, independent game designers are already hard at work creating or modifying programs for the iPad, and Gizmodo has alluded to the development of peripherals specifically for the iPad.

If designers really put their minds to the new iPad app market, we could see some really exciting results. Imagine for example that strategy games could be conducted in real space, using GPS and the iPad's lightweight design. If the iPad ever adds a built-in camera, an app similar to the iPhone's Augmented Reality could turn any physical space into a digital playground.

Medical Services:

According to this article from the SentinelSource.com, doctors are already considering the iPad in place of their usual clipboards. Tablets such as these are by far the more practical choice in the medical field. Where a "portable" workstation in a hospital usually consists of an unwieldy desktop rolled around on a cart, a single flat tablet is both easier to disinfect and immensely more portable. The iPad's sophistated interface makes it a viable contender in the medical field.

A doctor could take notes on their patient and upload them to a network, where they would be immediately accessible by nurses and other hospital staff. Prescriptions could work much the same way, with doctors issuing prescriptions through password protected accounts and sending them immediately to a pharmacy. Issues over hasty handwriting could be a thing of the past, as all notes could easily be recorded through the touch-sensitive keypad.

In the medical field, speed and mobility of information is key. Doctors could even make house visits with the iPad containing all the information they need, from ex-rays to patient history. They could answer basic questions from other staff people without ever leaving the patient's bedside. In essence, the iPad would free up the medical field, making it possible to carry a library of information in 1.5 pounds of hardware.

Business:

The possibilities here are fairly broad. Presentations are less prone to disaster when presenters can create, review, and display the same project on one device. No more moving projects back and forth between laptops. Even laptops seem bulky and unnecessary in comparison. The iPad can handle a wide variety of documents. Photographers can use it to create portfolios on slick, high resolution displays. The flat design and multiple-angle viewing makes it simple to show others your work.

Specifically designed for travel and field work, the agile iPad opens up opportunities for journalists to take notes and write drafts on the spot, sending information back to their editors in real time. If future versions of the iPad come with a camera, it would be an all-in-one journalist's dream. Imagine if one device had both written and audio-visual newsgathering capabilities. Interviews and press conferences would be handled with ease. Breaking news could be captured and notated with timely accuracy.

Even for the casual consumer, news sites designed for the iPad are more accessible than ever before. Catching up on current events is easy anywhere you have a spare moment. Perhaps this could result in a complete cycle of reinvigorated journalism.

In just about every capacity, the iPad provides a lighter, faster, slicker alternative to available products. Once released, the areas with the greatest demand for mobility will have trouble remembering life before the iPad.

What do you think? Are there any other ways you can see the iPad having an impact? Would you buy it for business or for personal use? Do you agree with Apple's assessment that this is a revolutionary product? Let us know!

Pro Studio World Tour

2009-12-07T09:30:00.000-08:00

This past Tuesday, December 2nd, Mac Business Solutions hosted Apple's Pro Studio World Tour in Washington DC. We had a good turnout and a full day of great speakers. We hope that those in attendance found this session informative and useful in addressing their production needs.

Everyone who attended was eligible for discounts on training and turnkey editing systems.

Apple Representative, Orlando Luna, discussed new features of Final Cut Studio, as well as the incredible functionality of the new ProRes codecs.

The presentation included details on:

Motion 4 - Now with more ease than ever before, you can create shadows, reflections, and manipulate depth of field.

Soundtrack Pro 3 - Soundtrack Pro has developed features like Voice Matching, Advanced Time Stretch and the ability to work with individual channels through the Enhanced File Editor.

Color 1.5 - Now more smoothly integrated with Final Cut Pro, Color 1.5 supports 4K video, ProRes, XDCam, and AVCIntra. It also interfaces with three-wheel control surfaces, such as TangentWave, for multi-touch color correction on moving images.

A TangentWave demo booth was also present at the seminar.

Later in the day we discussed Final Cut Server, a great business solution for projects with multiple editors which require a streamlined review and approval process.

We were fortunate to have representatives from AJA , Cache-A, Sonnet and Archiware at the seminar. Their products provide useful solutions for real-time encoding, format conversions, backup and storage.

And finally, a big congratulations to our MBS raffle winners!

Les Owen won a 13’ Macbook Pro with Final Cut Studio preinstalled.

Sean Hoar won two days of training in our Final Cut Marathon Training Week.

Keep checking back at www.mbsdirect.com for news, specials, and future events!

A Visit From Taiwan!

2009-12-06T09:31:00.000-08:00

The whole group at Video Labs.

From October 26th to November 13th, Mac Business Solutions hosted a group of fifteen television professionals from Taiwan. Their journey here was part of a program initiated by the National Communications Commission (NCC) of Taiwan to train an emerging group of industry leaders for the coming digital transition. Much like our DTV transition last summer, Taiwan is scheduled the make the leap in 2012.

Our training program was broad enough to encompass the wide variety of disciplines they represented, yet specific enough to address everyone's needs. We covered topics like shooting and editing for HD and tapeless work environments, along with graphics for HD, on-air marketing, satellite news gathering, tracking ratings, packaging and distribution. The program participants were given a surprise assignment of making a video by the end of their stay. They split into four teams and tackled a subject of their choice. We were excited to see what they came up with!

MBS is truly thankful for the other organizations who lent their expertise to this program. Interface Media Group, Henninger Media Services, WETA, CNN and the Associated Press all spoke to the delegates about aspects of production and post-production.

Video Labs did a wonderful presentation on duplication, packaging, and distribution for new formats, including an explanation on SpoTTrac encoding.

Near the end of their stay, the Taiwanese group visited the FCC and the National Association of Broadcasters for some discussion on the policy, funding, education and outreach efforts that surrounded this campaign. Both organizations were also kind enough to discuss Mobile DTV, which was made possible by the FCC's decision to set aside part of the broadcast spectrum for mobile devices.

As our program drew to a close, each of the participants received a certificate of completion and screened their final projects.

It was an absolutely wonderful three weeks, and, we look forward to similar opportunities in the future!