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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).
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...