Two new pieces of software, a new Thunderbolt2 SxS card reader and a 12k screen. Just some of the things you can find on the Sony stand at IBC 2014. We haven't even mentioned any cameras or the fact that the cloud demo films were edited on FCPX!
First of all, let's get that screen mentioned. Sony won an award for their stand design which features a 12K wide screen that looks fabulous. Lots of big screens everywhere, but that was one of the best. Currys delivering it and putting it up on the lounge wall is a different matter.
Have you ever used Sony's Content Browser application? It is pretty clunky, but it has saved our bacon a couple of times when we couldn't read an SxS card in FCPX.
It is to be replaced on September the 30th by two new applications, the free Catalyst Browse and the $199 (purchase not rental) Catalyst Prepare. The goal was to have an application that can read every file format that Sony cameras produce. Apart from an odd MT2S clip, that's exactly what these apps do as well as providing a gateway to Sony's cloud service called Ci.
The icon view in Catalyst Browse.
Knowing that you have an application that can get all of Sony's formats off cards and converted if you wish, means you can turn up to a job without having to dig around online for the latest drivers. The apps even support the new PXW-FS7! They also use OpenCL, they both looked very responsive and the render times are low. This must be the quickest way to edit a string of shots off a Sony format card and uploaded the file to a video sharing site.
With Catalyst Browse, the user can:
- Browse – Quickly browse the files on your device using a thumbnail view or detailed list.
- View – See the details of each clip, check focus, mark in and out points, adjust colors, and edit metadata.
- Fast Copy – Copy all clips on the media, a subset, or only the desired portion of a clip to save time and space.
- Ultra Wide Color Gamut– Review with confidence the full range of color captured by your S-Log and RAW Sony cameras. Apply color looks, and import/export standard ASC-CDL files with other workflow tools to save time.
- Clip Lists – Create, import, and export Sony Professional Disc clip lists for quick play-out needs.
The is a signup page on Sony's website so that they can tell you when the applications are available. We will certainly have Browse in our dock as soon as we can.
Showing the ProRes export options in Catalyst Browse.
Catalyst Prepare does a lot more, that's why there's a one-off fee of $199.95. It reminds us a lot of Red Giant's Bulletproof.
With Catalyst Prepare, the user can:
- Import – Quickly view and import clips from the latest professional cameras, including Sony, Canon, GoPro, and others.
- Organize – Organization is key: Prepare gives you the ability to organize your media into targeted, meaningful collections.
- Edit – View the details, zoom into every corner, mark In/Out, edit metadata, adjust colors non-destructively, and create a storyboard to rough draft your vision.
- Export – Export a file, a group of files, or a storyboard. Render to .MP4, DPX, OpenEXR, ACES, ProRes (Mac only), or XAVC in a variety of resolutions and frame rates, or upload to the cloud via Sony Ci media cloud for collaborative team review.
- Confident Backup – Back up the entire camera media with the confidence of checksum verification.
- Ultra Wide Color Gamut – Work with the same wide color gamut as your camera. Set the source color space and the grade color space independently. Grade in Rec.709, Log, or ACES.
- Create a Rough Cut – Use the storyboard editor to sequence and edit a rough cut, then render the storyboard or export it to a variety of NLEs.
Both applications can transcode and upload to Sony's Ci media cloud for collaborative team review. Ci has been beefed up too and hopefully the issue on the FCPXML import with markers has been fixed. It could turn out to be a really useful companion tool to FCPX. A 'dropbox' style folder is in the future, so by setting the default export correctly, getting files to online approval in Ci would only take a few clicks.
Maybe it was the slight headache from the AJA party the previous night, but we missed a trick in not asking if the application could render out an MXF from a FCPX flat file master.
Their new demo film on Ci was edited with Final Cut Pro X (More about that in the coming weeks)
Should you still be wondering exactly what Ci does, no problem, here is a Sony video on exactly what you can do with it.
Finally on to some new hardware that we found hiding behind the queues to work the new cameras. The SBAC-UT100 is a dual SxS card reader with one USB3 and two Thunderbolt 2 ports. This means that the unit can be daisy-chained and won't be an end of chain device. That could be important if you are editing in the field on a MacBook Pro with limited thunderbolt connectivity. We would like one very much.
Now for a couple of bad points. The reader has to be connected to a power source as the bus power isn't enough, plus the matter of the price. At $1,000 it would be cheaper to buy a couple of Sonnet Thunderbolt readers and still have enough money for a cheap skiing holiday.
I am the Editor-in-Chief of FCP.co and have run the website since its inception ten years ago.
I have also worked as a broadcast and corporate editor for over 30 years, starting on one inch tape, working through many formats, right up to today's NLEs.
Under the name Idustrial Revolution, I have written and sold plugins for Final Cut Pro for 13 years.
I was made a Freeman of Lichfield through The Worshipful Company of Smiths (established 1601). Though I haven't yet tried to herd a flock of sheep through the city centre!
Current Editing
2020 has been busy, the beginning of the year was finishing off a new property series (cut on FCP) for Channel 4 called The Great House Giveaway. I also designed and built the majority of the graphics as Motion templates. It has been a great success and the shows grabbed more viewers in the 4pm weekday slot than any previous strand. It has been recommissioned by C4 for 60 episodes, including prime-time versions and five themed programmes. The shows have also been nominated for a 2021 BAFTA.
Although both were postponed to later in the year, I worked again on ITV's coverage of the Tour de France and La Vuelta. 2020 was my 25th year of editing the TdF and my 20th year as lead editor. The Tour was the first broadcast show to adopt FCPX working for multiple editors on shared storage.
BBC's Snooker has played a big part in my life, I've been editing tournament coverage since 1997. I'm proud to be part of a very creative team that has pioneered many new ideas and workflows that are now industry standard in sports' production. This is currently an Adobe Premiere edit.
Covid cancelled some of the regular corporate events that I edit such as trade shows & events. I was lucky however to edit, from home, on projects for Amazon Kindle, Amazon Black Friday, Mastercard and very proud to have helped local charitable trust Kendall & Wall secure lottery funding.
As for software, my weapon of choice is Final Cut Pro and Motion, but I also have a good knowledge and broadcast credits with Adobe Premiere Pro, MOGRT design and Photoshop.
Plugin Design & Development
I'm the creative force behind Idustrial Revolution, one of the oldest Final Cut Pro plugin developers. It hosts a range of commercial and free plugins on the site. One free plugin was downloaded over a thousand times within 24 hours of release.
I also take on custom work, whether it is adapting an existing plugin for a special use or designing new plugins for clients from scratch. Having a good knowledge of editing allows me to build-in flexibility and more importantly, usability.
FCP.co
Now in its 10th year and 4th redesign, running FCP.co has given me knowledge on how to run a large CMS- you are currently reading my bio from the database! Although it sounds corny, I am pretty well up on social media trends & techniques, especially in the video sector. The recent Covid restrictions has enabled live FCP.co shows online. This involves managing a Zoom Webinar through Restream.io to YouTube and Facebook.
The Future
I'm always open to new ideas and opportunities, so please get in touch at editor (at) fcp.co. I've judged film competitions, presented workflow techniques to international audiences and come up with ideas for TV shows and software programs!
