Not all news for the next few days will come out of Amsterdam. Divergent Media has just announced an update to Edit Ready, now it will take MXF media.
Mark Heitke dropped us an email as we were en route to Amsterdam saying that there is a free update to EditReady available.
EditReady is a $49.99 standalone app that quickly converts a QuickTime or (now) MXF file into a format suitable for editing such as Apple ProRes or Avid DNxHD.
One thing we must point out here is that the app will render out an official Apple ProRes file. We have heard of various problems with other converters or apps that produce inferior files that can cause problems in FCPX.
The free 1.1 update for existing customers provides support for MXF media. We could have really done with this feature a few weeks ago as we had a stubborn SxS card that wouldn't load into FCPX, but could be seen by the finder. EditReady could have read the files and converted them into ProRes for us.
'"Cameras increasingly shoot straight to file based media, and editors need a tool to prepare their footage for post production quickly and easily. EditReady is the bridge between production and post production. EditReady can easily convert videos from cameras that record to QuickTime and MXF into common mezzanine formats like ProRes or DNxHD, preview footage with LUTs, and even edit metadata. EditReady reduces the headaches of editing and finishing by streamlining workflows and fixing problems before they stall post production.
EditReady is fast and powerful. It takes full advantage of modern Macs with support for hardware accelerated decoding and OpenCL. All this power is distilled into a clean and easy to navigate interface that takes the hard work out of transcoding files. EditReady keeps users focused on their footage, not their technology.'"
There is a new demo video that concentrates on MXF conversion.
Here is the original video that runs us through EditReady.
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!
