Apple Releases HD Suite for Filmmakers

Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) today added more clarity to its lineup of video-making tools with the release of Final Cut Studio, a high-definition, high-end production suite. The software package combines Final Cut Pro 5, Motion 2, Soundtrack Pro and DVD Studio Pro 4. Soundtrack Pro, for audio editing and sound design, is a new application.

Final Cut Pro, DVD Studio Pro, which burns high-definition DVDs, and Motion, for real-time motion graphics, have all been updated.

"What's interesting about this is the fact that Apple right now offers a whole range of products up and down the product line in terms of where you are in interest level," Michael Gartenberg, vice president and research director, Jupiter Media, told MacNewsWorld.

Editing from Many Angles

The feature creating the most buzz is Final Cut Pro's multi-camera editing function. Multicam puts up to 128 sources at editor's disposal and allows real-time playback of 16 angles at a time. The suite works in all major high-definition formats as well as DV (digital video) and SD (standard definition).

"Not only is it high-definition, but it's high-definition with all the traditional simplicity that Apple brings to it," Gartenberg said. The package is designed for professionals and users of Mac's high-end G5, partly because the size of high-definition files requires a high-end processor and a lot of storage space, but it might be attractive to others.

Dreaming of Filmmaking

"There's certainly that aspirational quality to Apple products. You may buy it because it's the tool of choice for pros even if you never make a movie yourself," Gartenberg said.

Final Cut allows for real-time editing and includes New Dynamic RT, software that automatically tweaks picture quality and the frame rate when playing back videos. New application Soundtrack Pro combines multitrack editing and mixing from Soundtrack with more than 50 effect plug-ins and 1,000 sound effects from Logic Pro 7.

Incorporated into Motion 2 is Replicator, which gives editors the ability to animate duplicated movies or graphics along their own grids and patterns. The program also contains accelerated filters such as 3D rotation, vignette and caustics, and will automatically generate effects such as sparkles, bubbles and space clouds. FxPlug gives developers a professional plug-in format to create their own effects.

The suite can be ordered from Apple for US$1,299 and should be available in May, the company said. Current Final Cut Pro users can upgrade for $699.