For August, we have one heck of a meeting devoted to the new Final Cut Pro 7 and to useful and creative FCP plug-ins geared towards filmmakers to make life easier for our editing workflows.

The BOSFCPUG's got the new Final Cut Studio covered with our first in-depth look at the new FCP 7 and we've got one of the best gurus in the industry with us - Philip Hodgetts - to give us a first-hand, real-world, NOT dog & pony BUT user-driven look at FCP 7. We've all been waiting long enough for the new Final Cut and Philip's going to give us his take on FCP 7 and what it means to us filmmakers.

Plus, (and if that weren't enough to get out of your edit suites!), we got Ross Shain of Imagineer Systems for a look at the new plug-in mocha for Final Cut; filmmaker David Tames on editing P2 footage "natively" with Raylight for FCP; and Loren Miller with a very cool look at nVeil, the new FCP plug-in for digital artists to create stunning imagery.

Our Wednesday, August 19th meeting is once again courteously hosted by our friends at the Center for Digital Imaging Arts at Boston University in Waltham, MA. Learn about the unique hands-on training in digital arts available from the CDIA-BU at: http://www.cdiabu.com.

So, please join us for an evening of Final Cut Pro and networking with fellow filmmakers. We'll also have the Big Dig Raffle with some nice raffle prizes from GenArts, All4DVD, Imagineer Systems, nVeil, Assisted Editing, ArtBeats, Peachpit Press, Focal Press and more - AND we'll again serve up some delicious pizza from The Upper Crust.

Register Now to be at this must-attend meeting at:
http://www.seminars.apple.com/goToEvent.html?id=87507

***NOTE: please be sure to pre-register if you plan to attend, it will make the check-in process more efficient and allow us to get accurate numbers for seating and refreshments***

BOSTON FINAL CUT PRO USER GROUP MEETING
DATE: Wednesday, August 19th
TIMES: 6:30PM - 9:30PM (Doors open at 6PM)
VENUE: Studio H
Center for Digital Imaging Arts at Boston University
274 Moody Street
Waltham, MA 02453
Event Directions: http://www.cdiabu.com/directions.php

AGENDA:

- PHILIP HODGETTS: Final Cut Pro 7 Overview
What's new in FCP 7 and what it all means. Review the new features and learn how they'll benefit your workflows. From ProRes 4444 to moving Sequence Markers, there's more in FCP 7 than you might expect.

Secret new software!
Philip will be previewing a brand new piece of software from Intelligent Assistance, currently in beta. Be the first to see this useful new tool for documentary editors or producers who need to produce clip reports. Oops, I've said too much already. Be the first in the world to see this new tool.

Sync-N-Link for FCP
Philip will also demo Sync-N-Link for FCP, which speeds the time-consuming chore of synchronizing dailies or rushes by quickly creating merged clips for Final Cut Pro. Sync-N-Link for FCP will save days ahead of editorial and opens new flexibility in editing dual-system sound with Final Cut Pro.

Sync-N-Link for FCP supports two different workflows:
Pre-edit sync — Bins of video clips are synced to polyphonic audio clips before editing;
Cut first/sync later — an edited Sequence with camera audio has the audio replaced with the full audio tracks.

Sync-N-Link has been used on "Damages", by NFL Films and will be used in this season's episodes of NCIA-LA, Cougar Town, Scrubs and Sara Silverman. Sync-N-Link turns a job that takes days into one completed in hours.

exceLogger
Philip will also demo exceLogger, which let's you use the power of Microsoft Excel to log already captured clips. Smarter logging is easier logging: unlock the power of Excel for Final Cut Pro Logging.

Maybe the reason your'e not logging is because it's too hard in FCP? With exceLogger you export clips (as a Batch List) to Excel, and an XML file of your FCP project. In Excel, add logging information and create new subclips until you're done. Process in exceLogger with the XML file to merge the data. Clips are created, or updated, with the new information. Newly created clips are automatically linked to the media in FCP.

miniME (Metadata Explorer) 
Philip will also show you how to explore important metadata hidden in Final Cut Pro with miniME. miniME lets you view the hidden QuickTime metadata present in FCP XML exports (and originating from DVCPRO HD, XDCAM, AVCCAM, AVC-I or RED files). View and export to Excel (in the free demo version). In the paid version you can remap the hidden metadata to visible fields inside FCP.

Assisted Editing:  http://www.assistedediting.com

ABOUT PHILIP HODGETTS
Philip Hodgetts is an expert and consultant in metadata, digital production and post-production workflows, encoding, web applications, digital delivery and technology innovation. He is the President and CEO of Open Television Network, a company dedicated to making "podcasting" a professional service.

Philip remains President of Intelligent Assistance, Inc - a systems and technology developer - and one of the "Big Brains" of Big Brains for Rent" consultancy. He is an experienced trainer and has written extensively online across a range of topics.

Philip was the founder of Creative Planet's Digital Production BuZZ weekly show and is the co-creator of “Assisted Editing”.

Philip has presented at many conferences and seminars including Keynote addresses for the New York DV Show; Academy of Television Arts and Sciences' NEXT TV symposium in 2006; and the 2007 Podcast Summit at NAB as well as presented at Streaming Media East and West; NAB Post|Production, Seybold among others.

---

- ROSS SHAIN: mocha for Final Cut
Ross Shain of Imagineer Systems will be on hand to demo the new stand alone 2D tracking and rotoscoping tool from Imagineer systems, mocha for Final Cut. mocha for Final Cut is a stand alone 2D tracking and rotoscoping tool designed for the Final Cut Studio community. It is packed with features that help editors and VFX artists tackle more complex jobs and enable them to finish projects within Final Cut.

***NOTE: Ross will be offering a special 50% off discount on mocha for Final Cut at the meeting!***

mocha for Final Cut:  http://www.imagineersystems.com/products/mocha_for_Final_Cut/
---

- DAVID TAMES: Raylight for FCP
Filmmaker David Tames is back with us to show how to edit native P2 media in Final Cut Pro with Raylight.

Raylight allows for lightning fast creation of QuickTime Reference files from your P2 footage, which then you edit in FCP as standard QuickTime. No time is wasted with conversion from MXF to QuickTime! David will show a recent project edited this way and explain why he's editing his next documentary with Raylight. Raylight allows you to archive and store your media as NATIVE MXF and edit QuickTime files in FCP, the best of both worlds.

David's website:  http://kino-eye.com
---

- LOREN MILLER: nVeil for FCP
Loren Miller joins us for a quick overview of nVeil, an innovative new plug in for digital artists and the Apple Final Cut Studio community.  Leveraging a sophisticated new SVG file filtering engine, nVeil enables the creation of an entirely new digital art form in which video clips - with full motion and color - are filtered through SVG (Scalable Vector Graphic) ‘veils’ to create visually immersive and stunning imagery.  nVeil provides digital artists and motion graphic editors with an extensive library of veils to transform clips into full motion, stained glass-like images for a variety of purposes, such as wipes, transitions or corporate logo design treatments.

Working within Apple’s Final Cut Pro, Final Cut Express or Motion, digital artists first apply nVeil as a video effect to any clip.  Then, users simply choose a veil and adjust settings from eight parameters, transforming the video into a unique work of  art. The nVeil effect veils the source imagery as a ‘curtain’ in front of the clip. The result is similar to a constantly changing stained glass design seen through a kaleidoscope.

nVeil:  http://www.nveil.storekstudio.com/
---

Big Dig Raffe
List of raffle prizes to be announced in next newsletter.

Sponsors:
- Center for Digital Imaging Arts at Boston University