Product Description

Final Cut Express HD 3.5 delivers the advanced moviemaking power you need, to create the most dynamic and dramatic effects ever seen in a film. Get all the tools you need to create fantastic Digital Video (DV) or High-Definition video (HDV) projects. Final Cut Express HD supports an unlimited number of video tracks, plus amazing Real-time special effects and transitions. You also get powerful tools like Color correction and matting. Full keyframe control over effects and motion parameters advance your filmmaking, while dynamic real-time effects, and new versions of LiveType and Soundtrack let you add dazzling titles, objects and text effects. Universal Application now runs natively on both Intel- and PowerPC-based Macs. Mix up to 99 audio tracks in your movie, and further enhance your audio with real-time volume and audio filter adjustments Soundtrack 1.5 helps you create an original Music score for your movie -- no Professional musical experience necessary iMovie projects can be opened in Final Cut Express HD with all their effects, transitions, and audio levels intact Output your project back to a DV or HDV device for direct playback Save your projects as a QuickTime movie for distribution over the web, or export it to iDVD More professional templates for DV and HDV projects New vector-based animated LiveFonts More animated objects and textures 60 new text effects System Requirements - PowerPC G4 or G5, 500MHz or faster; 512MB RAM; AGP or PCI Express Quartz Extreme graphics card; Monitor with 1024 x 768 display; 500MB Hard Drive space; QuickTime 7.0.4 or later; DVD Drive

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #3892 in Software
• Brand: Apple
• Model: MA261Z/A
• Released on: 2006-05-22
• Platforms: Mac OS X Intel, Mac OS X
• Format: DVD-ROM
• Original language: English
• Dimensions: .35 pounds

Features

• Universal Binary version for Mac OSX and Mac OSX Intel

Customer Reviews

Final Cut Express HD 3.5 from a Newbie
Apple Final Cut Express HD 3.5 (Mac)


I am a newbie to both Apple computers and Apple software. With FCE 3.5 I have a real love/hate relationship going on here. This is probably the most frustrating software that I have ever tried to learn, but when the results come out, they are fantastic. If you want to quickly piece together a fun little video with just a few transitions, then use iDVD. If you enjoy working your tail off and feeling a REAL sense of accomplishment at making a small step, then this is the software for you.

By the way, many of you will have noticed that you can get the newest FCE 4 at nearly the same price as FCE HD 3.5.
You should be aware that FCE 4 does NOT have Soundtrack included nor does it have all of the features of LiveType 2. (Nearly 9 gigs is missing!) For the price difference I chose 3.5.

I am still learning this, but I have no doubts that I will become proficient in its use. Besides, I have an ace in the hole. Tom Wolsky has many books out on Final Cut. He is also a regular on the Apple Support forums. There is not any question that he cannot answer about Final Cut.

Also you should purchase a mini/dv camera with firewire output. USB ain't gonna cut it with Final Cut Express.

Hope this helps.

Pete

Great Program -- One BIG flaw
Final Cut Express is a very powerful program, and no doubt you can make spectacular movies with it. However, there is one glaring flaw that is driving me nuts: NO BATCH CAPTURE! In Final Cut Pro, the much more expensive parent of Final Cut Express, you can run through your video setting in/out points very quickly, and then simply doing a "Batch Capture," allowing you to walk away and let the program gather all your clips. In FCE, however, it's different. You can either capture the whole tape, and then edit it later. Or, you can set your in/outs, and then capture before moving on to the next clip. My God, if you have a lot of video to work with, can you imagine how much extra time this will take. And, again, with a lot of video, unless you have massive amounts of storage, it is going to be tough to capture an entire tape and cut it up later.

So, don't get me wrong.....great program, tons of tools, tremdendous value for the money. BUT, Batch Capturing is a must for me. This program would have been a solid 5 stars had Apple simply included batch capturing. For me, my projects are long enough to where I have to have it. So......I am buying Final Cut Studio (not only for batch capturing, but for the additional codecs as well).

If your goal is to take your home movies to the next level and have far more features than iMovie, and the capturing issues are not a big deal for you (or you are on a strict budget), then this may be the program for you.

Amazing
When I slammed the Canon PIXMA 4300 for being terrible, I indicated that I only write reviews when the product is very good, or very bad. In this case, this product is truly amazing. In fact, it is the coolest software I have ever owned or used. In fact, I'd say this is the coolest thing I have ever owned, but that would make me a geek. Buy it without reservation!

Running on a MacBook Pro with 2GB RAM and OS X. I suspect the 2GB is a very good idea though I have never tried it with les.