More Than One Way to Show Off
Make sure everyone gets to see your finished project. You can easily record projects back to your DV or HDV device with the Print to Video command. For distribution on the web, Final Cut Express HD projects can be exported in any QuickTime format, including MPEG-4. You can also import projects with chapter markers into iDVD to create DVDs. Whether your final product will be output back to a DV or HDV device for direct playback through a home theater system, saved as a QuickTime movie for distribution over the web, or exported to iDVD, youre sure to find that Final Cut Express HD delivers the power, quality, and features that make it the ideal choice for advanced moviemaking.
Video Editing for Everyone
Final Cut Express HD is ideal for anyone who wants professional digital video tools at an affordable price. Video enthusiasts can use Final Cut Express HD to create professional-looking digital video projects to entertain, inspire, and capture memories. Event videographers will have a professional-level toolset that helps them create high-quality videos using an efficient workflow. Independent filmmakers and documentarians can create exciting, visually rich videos that fully express the power and excitement of their ideas. Small business videomakers, multimedia producers, and web designers can generate video content for distribution on the web, CD/DVD, and video. Educators can take advantage of this affordable editing application to create materials for use in their classrooms via video, CD/DVD, or the web. Final Cut Express HD supports Volume Licensing and KeyServer installations, making it ideal for lab environments. Students who learn to use Final Cut Express HD will be able to transfer their knowledge to Final Cut Pro in the future.

Get a Head Start

For videomakers just learning how to edit video with Final Cut Express HD, several helpful tools are included. In the box you will find a DVD with tutorials to get you up and running fast, as well as a printed document that describes in detail the Final Cut Express HD workflow. In addition, a guide in PDF formatGetting Started with Final Cut Express HDis included with the application. A great resource for those new to video editing, the guide walks through the basics of working with Final Cut Express HD, from capturing, editing, and adding effects to outputting to a CD/DVD, the web, or videotape. Following the steps of a typical Final Cut Express HD work session, it takes users through activities commonly performed in making a high-quality video. The guide also provides tips, a glossary of terms, and solutions to common problems. In addition, Final Cut Express HD includes a detailed Help section (available through the Help menu) for learning more about the application or in-depth editing techniques.

Tabs. Each open project is represented by a tab containing that projects files. You can have multiple projects open at the same time. Bins. You can organize your media clips in bins, or folders, within a project. Central storage. The Browser lists all files in a projectvideo and audio clips, sequences, and markers.
Master and affiliate clips
Final Cut Express HD supports master/affiliate clip relationships. The first instance of a clip that is captured or imported into a project is a master clip. Editing a master clip into a sequence or duplicating it in the Browser results in the creation of a sequence clip or a duplicate clip that is an affiliate of the original master clip. Media files on disk are not duplicated when affiliates are created; affiliates reference the master clips source media file. As a result of the relationship between master and affiliate clips, changes you make to certain properties of either the master clip or the affiliate are automatically made to all affiliated clips in the current project. Master and affiliate clips are especially useful after capturing large amounts of media. For example, you might log and capture clips that are organized in bins based on tape name. For a particular project, you might want to organize the clips differentlyby shot and scene or any other criteria. Creating affiliate clips in new bins preserves both methods of organization without duplicating media files on the disk.
The Viewer: Select Assets and Preview Changes
The Viewer window is the place to review media clips before placing them in the Timeline. Prepare footage before bringing it to the Timeline by applying In and Out points, filters, and effects. Tabs in the Viewer are used for displaying information such as title generators, motion controls, and color correction.

The Viewer

Tabs. Tabs provide access to different functions and controls. Editing and marking controls. These controls let you set markers, In and Out points, and keyframes, and match audio and video for clips and sequences. Transport controls. These buttons let you play clips and sequences. Playhead, clip, and sequence controls. These three controls are used to navigate through and play clips and sequences at speeds other than 100 percent playback speed.
The Timeline: Put the Pieces in Place
The Timeline is where you choose the order of clips in your project, determine the relationship between those clips, and perform various editing operations. Media and clips are arranged in tracks according to when they will play in time. Support for multiple tracks means that various clips, both audio and video, can play simultaneously. Add clips to the Timeline by dragging them directly to a track or by using the overlay controls in the Canvas. Position clips at a time value to specify exactly when the clips will play in the video. Edit and rearrange clips until they are exactly the way you want them.

The Timeline 1

Tabs. The Timeline displays a chronological view of an open sequence. Each sequence has its own tab. You can have multiple sequences open at once.
Audio tracks. A sequence can have up to 99 audio tracks. Markers. Add markers to indicate important events, to create chapters for DVD navigation, and to optimize video encoding. Solo and mute controls. Use these controls to enable and disable audio playback on individual tracks for monitoring purposes.
2 Video tracks. Video tracks are displayed in descending order. The order in the Timeline determines the layering order when you composite multiple tracks of video.
The Canvas: See It All Come Together
The Canvas displays the results of your editing decisions, including effects and Timeline arrangement. All edited clips on the Timeline are played back in the Canvas. Anytime a change is made, a clip added, or an effect created, the Canvas can be used to preview or view that edit; the Canvas represents your final project output. Controls to play, stop, fast forward, and rewind the projects Timeline are built into the Canvas window.
The Canvas also provides one-step transition and superimpose when adding clips to the Timeline. Drag a clip from the Browser or the Viewer onto the Canvas, and edit options become available. Simply drag the clip onto an option to implement that edit in the Timeline. Options include insert, insert with transition, overwrite, overwrite with transition, replace, fit to fill, and superimpose. Insert editing places the selected video or audio so that everything after the insertion point, on any unlocked track, shifts forward in the Timeline. Overwrite editing places the clip in the Timeline at the playhead and overwrites any clips that exist in the space needed for that clip to fit in the Timeline. Replace editing replaces the clip under the playhead or a gap in the Timeline with the new clip. Enough of the clips material, starting at the beginning or at the In point, is used to fit the space exactly. Fit-to-fill editing replaces the clip under the playhead or fills a gap in the Timeline with the selected clip. The new clips speed increases to fill the space exactly. Superimpose editing places the new clips video and audio onto tracks adjacent to the clip under the playhead in the Timeline.

Layers of Creativity: Work with Multiple Projects, Sequences, and Video and Audio Tracks
With a virtually unlimited number of video tracks and 99 audio tracks, you can create dynamic, composited videolike picture-in-picture, split-screen, and video collagesand a rich soundtrack to go with it. You can also keep multiple projects and sequences open at the same time. This allows you to experiment with different edits on the same footage; break your work into smaller, more manageable pieces; work on more than one project at a time; and cut and paste between projects. Use up to 99 layers of video and 99 audio tracks in any sequence. A sequence can be nested as a clip in another sequence, and any changes in a nested sequence ripple through all sequences that contain that clip. Edited sequences are fully changeable and can be nested for reuse again and again in multiple Timelines. For more details on working with multiple video tracks, see the Compositing and Titles section.
The Autosave Vault: Save Your Stuff
Being able to save work on a regular basis is an important component of the editing processand being able to go back to a previous edit can be even more important. The Autosave Vault gives you the option of stepping back to previous stages of a project. Enabling this feature ensures that Final Cut Express HD will periodically save copies of open projects as separate files after a specified duration. The original project file is not touched until you choose the Save command. With up to 32 levels of undo available with the Undo command, you can also undo individual actions.
Powerful Editing with Final Cut Express HD
With Final Cut Express HD, you can move seamlessly between editing, trimming, compositing and effects, and audio functions in a single interface. From capture to compositing and effects to audio and final output, the Viewer, Canvas, Browser, Timeline, and other elements of the workflow are easily accessible. With its plugand-play FireWire connection, intuitive drag-and-drop user interface, and powerful real-time editing, compositing and effects, and audio tools, Final Cut Express HD enables you to be creative and productive right away.

Make Professional Edits

Once youve captured some or all of the clips that will go into your finished project, its time to begin editing. You will find a way to edit that is comfortable for you; Final Cut Express HD is extremely flexible. When you have assembled an edited sequence, you can trim your edits and modify your sequence in several ways as well. Using visual controls in the interface Directly manipulating your clips using the mouse in the Timeline Using keyboard shortcuts
True nondestructive, nonlinear editing
Final Cut Express HD provides true nonlinear editing capabilities for the DV and HDV formats. Nonlinear editing is the ability to easily change the order of clips on the Timeline and perform other editing functions without having to rely on a fixed sequence (as you would with a tape). All editing is nondestructive to the original footage on your hard drive. Clips in Final Cut Express HD are merely pointers to the original source material, so any deletion or duplication of clips in the project, trimming changes, effects, or other alterations you make do not affect the source files themselves.

Editing tools at work

Professional-style editing means frame-accurate control over trimming your clips, more flexibility in making edits in the Timeline, and unlimited editing creativity. The editing tools in the palette include the following: Razor blade. Cuts a single clip into two pieces. This can be useful for quickly rearranging pieces of your sequence, deleting a section of a clip, applying an effect to a specific part of a clip, or moving a piece of a clip to the same location on another track. Ripple edit. Changes the duration of a clip. It moves the location of either the Out point preceding or the In point following an edit point. The duration of the clip to the left or the right of the edit point is shortened or lengthened to fit the new edit point without changing the location of the edit in the sequence.
Roll edit. Changes both the selected clip and an adjacent clip. This type of edit adjusts the location of an edit point shared by two clips; the Out point of the first clip and the In point of the second clip are moved or rolled. This changes the location of the edit in the sequence as well as the duration of each clip. Roll edits are useful when you want to match the action of one clip with the action of another and need to find the right intersecting frames. Slip edit. Moves the In and Out points of a clip simultaneously while maintaining its duration and position in the edited sequence. Surrounding clips are not affected, just the range of frames in the clip. This is useful for adjusting footage youve edited into your sequence without moving it in the Timeline. Slide edit. Moves an entire clip along with the edit points to its left and right. The duration of the clip being moved stays the same, but the clips to the left and right of it change duration. Resize edit. Extends or shortens a clip by moving the In or Out point. Extend edit. Allows you to move an edit point between two clips quickly. This edit moves an edit point to the position of the playhead in the Timeline.

Refine Your Edits with Trimming
After you have made your initial edits and assembled your footage in the Timeline, you can refine your sequence. Trimming is used to fine-tune a sequence by adding or subtracting frames from the In or Out point of a clip. These small adjustments to your initial edits help to create smoother edits.

Trim Edit window

This window provides very precise control while trimming. It displays both sides of an editthe outgoing clip before the edit point and the incoming clip that appears after itallowing you to adjust your edit with frame-level accuracy. You can also use this window to trim a group of edits in multiple tracks at once (only one edit per track).
Dynamic and asymmetric trimming
Final Cut Express HD includes dynamic trimming in the enhanced Trim Edit window. When dynamic trimming is on, keyboard controls allow you to trim on the fly. Move the playhead using the J, K, and L keys to find new Out and In points for the selected edit point. If dynamic trimming is turned on in the General tab of the User Preferences window, the selected edit point moves to the new position of the playhead whenever you stop. In addition, Final Cut Express HD supports asymmetric trimminga technique that gives editors a fast way to trim multiple clips in opposite directions.
Add Transitions and Effects
Final Cut Express HD gives you a suite of powerful tools for adding cool effects. And since you can create virtually unlimited layers of effects, your creative options are unlimited as well. Add a transition between clips. Use the Color Corrector to fix and match clips or to create a dramatic look. Control all effects and motion parameters with keyframes for professional looks and precise timing.
See it now with real-time effects
With the real-time engine in Final Cut Express HD, you get superb results quickly, without rendering. RT Extreme is an enhanced multistream, real-time effects architecture that lets you view your projects without rendering as you experiment with effects, transitions, composition, and filters. And now Final Cut Express HD includes Dynamic RT, which adjusts resolution and frame rate on the fly for maximum real-time performance, letting you set it and forget it. RT Extreme leverages the strengths of Mac OS X and the PowerPC processor to support a scalable number of video streams and real-time effects: The number of available video streams and real-time effects increases as processor speeds increase. Real-time video transitions and filters appear in bold in the Effects tab and in the Effects menu to indicate that they will play back in real time. The RT Extreme pop-up menu in the Timeline gives you several options for effects processing. You can choose between various modes that deliver either maximum simultaneous streams and real-time effects or guaranteed playback without dropped frames. Safe. In Safe mode, Final Cut Express HD provides guaranteed playback of real-time effects. The number of streams and effects is based on the capabilities of your system. Unlimited. In Unlimited mode, Final Cut Express HD uses every bit of processing power available, allowing you to stack up multiple streams of video. When Unlimited is selected, you can use nearly all of the more than 200 effects, filters, and transitions in real time. Dynamic RT. In Unlimited RT mode, you can choose the Dynamic setting for Playback Video Quality, Playback Frame Rate, or both. In Dynamic mode, resolution and frame rate are adjusted automatically, on the fly, so you always get the optimal real-time performance at the maximum quality possible. For example, Final Cut Express HD will play back your project at Full Frame Rate unless it recognizes a section of the Timeline that requires a lower frame rate for real-time playback. It will adjust for that section, then automatically return to Full Frame Rate once the section is done. Dynamic RT lets you set it and forget it, confident that you are always leveraging the maximum real-time performance of your CPU.

Copy, paste, and remove attributes
When working with large projects or sequences that contain repetitive effects, filters, and motion, it is often convenient to copy and paste the attributes from one clip to another (or others). Similarly, you can remove attributes from a clip or clips. You can paste keyframes as is or scale them to fit the duration of the clip on which they are being pasted. The following attributes can be copied, pasted, or removed from any clip: Video attributes Content Basic Motion Crop Distort Opacity Drop Shadow Motion Blur Filters Speed Clip Settings (capture) Audio attributes Content Levels Pan Filters

Compositing and Titles

Final Cut Express HD provides powerful tools to manipulate, animate, or combine images. You can achieve impressive results by layering video clips or graphics files, such as multilayered Adobe Photoshop files, to create rich visual images and animations. You can also create outstanding titles with filters, effects, and compositing.
Use Multiple Video Layers
Using multiple video layers is one of the simplest and fastest ways to add a professional look to your projects. By combining two or more video tracks, also called compositing, you can create excitement and tell a better story with your video than is possible with single-track editing.
Professional compositing results
Final Cut Express HD supports a virtually unlimited number of video, text, and graphics layers. You can import Adobe Photoshop files directly into Final Cut Express HD either as a flattened image or with all layers maintained on separate tracks. Import any QuickTime-supported graphics file. Combine your graphics with video, apply animation and effects to the layers, and add titles and animated elements from LiveType.
Complete control of all effects, including motion
All video layers in Final Cut Express HD can have motion attributes added to them for dynamic compositing. Bezier and numeric controls enable you to change the position of layers, create motion paths with or without a curve, and adjust the acceleration of objects along a path, ensuring smooth, highly sophisticated results. To create motion for an object or video layer, you create a keyframe by clicking the Add Keyframe button, move to a new point on the Timeline, and then drag the object to a new location. A path is automatically drawn. Changing the spacing of the points along the path adjusts the acceleration of the item. Adjustments are made right on the path itself, providing direct feedback on how the animation will work. All parameters of an objectsuch as size, rotation, corner distortion, and any applied effectsare also controllable using keyframes.
LiveType: Speak with Titles
Titling provides a finishing touch, and Final Cut Express HD has all the tools necessary to create beautiful titles, using the built-in tools or LiveType. Keyframe and animate titles like any other object. Make text crawl, scroll, or appear in the lower third of the screen. LiveType 2 is a full-featured, professional-quality titling application that allows you to create dynamic, animated titles quickly and easily. With LiveFontsfonts with their own animated behaviorsplus full support for all system fonts and a way to create new effects, LiveType is simple enough for the first-time user and powerful enough for the professional. LiveType comes with dozens of LiveFonts, as well as easily adapted DV and HDV project templates, customizable keyframed effects, and a huge library of animated content. It also includes alpha channel support, scalability, dynamic individual character control, and frame-accurate registration with Final Cut Express HD projects. Professionally designed templates get your project off to a fast start (you can build and save your own templates as well). LiveType templates combine the various elements available in the application, including LiveFonts, system fonts, and animated textures and objects, into ready-to-use, customizable projects for your video.

Flexible and compatible

You can import clips from Final Cut Express HD complete with markers, so its easy to synchronize your titles to important video and audio transitions in your video projects. LiveType also imports and exports all QuickTime-supported file formats, including Adobe Photoshop, JPEG, TIFF, and PICT.

A wide range of options

Final Cut Express HD supports direct Timeline file placement of LiveType projects, for a smooth and easy workflow. LiveType can create a QuickTime movie that you can import into your Final Cut Express HD bin like any other file, and creates files with or without an alpha channel, making them available to your Final Cut Express HD projects. In addition, LiveType allows you to set up your own project size and resolution, so you can work in a custom setting of your choosing. It also supports all of your system fonts, including PostScript and TrueType fonts, making it possible to create an even wider spectrum of titling effects.
With Final Cut Express HD, you can edit, enhance, and adjust a videos audio tracks. Final Cut Express HD can mix up to 99 tracks and play back up to eight audio tracks in real time. You can add tracks of music, sound effects, or voiceover. In addition, the new Soundtrack 1.5 lets you create high-quality, royalty-free music for your Final Cut Express HD projects quickly and easily.

Real-Time Audio Filters

Audio filters can be adjusted in real time as the track is playing, so you can hear your work in progress. This helps you experiment more and exercise more creative control over your projects. Final Cut Express HD includes a number of filters that you can use to adjust your audio clips so that the audio is as strong, clear, and noise-free as possible. Filters can also be used to blend the clips in your audio mix to prevent the sound quality or tone of a particular clip from standing out. Equalization filters. Instead of raising or lowering the volume of an entire clip, equalization raises or lowers the volume of individual sound frequencies in the clip. Compression and expansion filters. The compression and expansion filters allow you to adjust an audio clips dynamic range after it has been captured. The compressor/ limiter filter lets you adjust the dynamic range of an audio clip so that the loudest part of the clip is compressed to within a specified range of the softest part of the clip. The expansion filter raises parts of a clip that are too low. Hum remover. The hum remover lets you get rid of cycle hum (a low buzzing) that may have been introduced into your audio recording by power lines crossing your cables or by a shorted ground wire. Vocal DeEsser. This filter is essentially a specialized equalizer that reduces the ess sounds produced by a speaker with pronounced ss or a microphone that accentuates high frequencies. Vocal DePopper. The Vocal DePopper lets you attenuate the harsh p sounds that result from puffs of breath bursting into the microphone. Echo and reverb filters. These effects filters help you match foreground audio clips to the background in which they appear. Noise gate. The noise gate eliminates all sound below a specified volume threshold.

Precise Controls

Theres no fumbling when trying to edit audio with Final Cut Express HD. Subframe audio editing down to 1/100 of a frame gives precise control over audio edits. Dynamic audio level meters provide instant visual information on the range of an audio track as it plays, and audio pan controls make it easy to work with stereo tracks during playback. In the Timeline, solo and mute controls allow you to isolate individual audio tracks. And no re-rendering is required when muted tracks are reactivated, so you save an incredible amount of time as well.

Voice Over Tool

Capture audio directly to the Timeline from a built-in or external microphone with the Voice Over tool. Create quick scratch tracks or voiceover work while editing a project. The Voice Over tool provides a countdown cue, and records before start and after stop to provide the recorded sound with handles.

Soundtrack

Featuring a friendly user interface and a workflow designed specifically for working with Final Cut Express HD, Soundtrack 1.5 enables you to create original music scores on your ownno professional musical experience is necessary. Soundtrack gives you the power to develop professional-quality music that quickly syncs to a project, allowing you to retain greater control. Music loops can be combined and arranged like building blocks to develop original, royalty-free music soundtracks. And because Soundtrack lets you develop your music scores in real time, you can quickly evaluate dozens of alternatives before you export your composition.
Video preview Tempo and key Markers

Loop searching

Timeline

Powerful automation

Loop preview

Track controls

Import video
Once your editing is near completion in Final Cut Express HD, Soundtrack allows you to import QuickTime movies in any resolution, from DV to HDV, for creation of your original music score. Soundtrack also retains scoring markers from Final Cut Express HD. Markers. Because Soundtrack supports Final Cut Express HD scoring markers, you can establish important points in your video while editing in Final Cut Express HD, then work with them directly in Soundtrack while composing your score. In addition, you can set markers at video locations where you want musical rhythms or sound effects to coincide with video events such as scene changes, action points, and so on. Video edits that are requested after the music has been created can pose real problems in the traditional music editing workflow for video and film. Soundtrack offers a flexible new solution by allowing editors to quickly resync their music to scoring markers. Multiple tracks of audio can be instantly manipulated in real time to match new editorial changes, without causing major setbacks to the project schedule.

Arrange

Once you find a loop you want to include in your new composition, drag it to the familiar Timeline. You can drag the loop, split it, and repeat it quickly and easily to fit with your video. Since Soundtrack immediately adjusts the audio loop tracks to your project settings, you can experiment with different ideas during any stage of the production. Your audio loops always remain matched as you adjust your project parameters. Marker snapping. Do you want an event to land on one of your markers? You can have the sound snap right to the marker point. Grid. Or maybe you want the loop to simply groove along in sync with the project. Soundtrack gives you the ability to snap loops to various grid levels, so arranging is easy and fast.

Record

You can further customize your score by recording your own audio directly in Soundtrack. Soundtrack allows recording from any Mac OS X Core Audiosupported audio device. Standard record. You can record while watching your video and listening to your score of arranged loops. You can record and edit your own voiceovers right in Soundtrack, allowing you to work with your music and voice mix at the same time. Loop record. Soundtrack makes it easy to enhance your sound library if youre ready to record a live musician. You can perform and record your own instruments as loops and get multiple attempts to capture the best performance. Loop record mode allows you to cycle the same section of your project as many times as you like, with each take captured for you to review so you can pick the best one. These performances can be saved as specially tagged Apple Loops, so your recordings can match other loops in your current and future projects.
Once you have the basis of your score arranged, you can begin refining the music by adjusting the volume and stereo panning, adding effects, and automating key parameters of the mix. Effects. Soundtrack doesnt stop with enabling you to combine loops and having them seamlessly match tempo and key. It includes a powerful set of more than 30 plug-ins that allow you to sculpt your sound even more. Soundtrack works with the industry-standard Mac OS X Audio Units plug-in format, so you can add more thirdparty plug-ins if the need arises. You can adjust your effects with a simplified set of plug-in effect parameters or use the plug-ins custom interface to tweak the sound of each loop in your composition. Whats more, Soundtrack allows you to automate each plug-in parameter, giving you total control of your effects in the Timeline. Automation. Every mixing and effect parameter can be automated in real time, just like keyframes in Final Cut Express HD. Volume, pan, and effects can all be precisely controlled on individual tracks or for the entire project.

Product Features

Input/Capturing video
Plug-and-play support for most DV25-format camcorders and decks: MiniDV and DVCAM (NTSC or PAL) Plug-and-play support for most HDV-format camcorders and decks: 720p, 1080i FireWire device control of most FireWire-equipped MiniDV and HDV camcorders from leading manufacturers like Sony, Canon, Panasonic, and JVC Capture window lets you name, add comments to, and organize your clips as you capture them Incremental clip naming during capture when a recording break is discovered Imports a range of still image formats: PSD, BMP, JPEG, PICT, PNG, SGI, TARGA, and TIFF Imports iMovie files complete with effects, transitions, and audio levels Bins allow you to organize your files and sequences in a project Clips can be organized in the Browser using the extensive search, sort, and sift capabilities Clip labels help organize and sort clips Master and affiliate clip relationship automatically updates certain properties of a clip, such as clip name or reel name, within the current project 32 levels of undo

Editing and Timeline

Nondestructive editing references the original video so the source footage is never altered Drag-and-drop editing Editing on the Timeline Three-point editing model 99 video tracks with support for nesting tracks together Support for multiple sequences and projects allows you to create alternative edits or break projects into smaller pieces Insert and overwrite with or without transitions Replace, fit to fill, and superimpose edits Edit overlay for insert, overwrite, replace, fit to fill, and superimpose gives you control over how clips are added to the Timeline Blade and Blade All tools allow you to add edit points to your sequence
Extend and split edits provide additional editing options Sync detection and correction compensates for audio and video tracks that slip out of sync Active track targeting lets you specify individual or multiple tracks to apply edits to or protect from being edited Enabling the Auto Select controls of specific tracks in the Timeline allows the contents of those tracks to be selected via In and Out points in the Timeline or Canvas Adjacent (through edit) indicators in Timeline Dupe detection in Timeline Keyframe graphs Track locking Clip, sequence, scoring, chapter, and compression markers Clip and sequence marker export to LiveType for titling Clip and scoring marker export for Soundtrack Chapter marker export for iDVD Custom, independent track heights Autosave Vault saves project at specified intervals, so you can return to any point in your edit without losing your work

Sampling at 8kHz to 48kHz and 8 to 24 bits Audio level meters (per track) Mac OS X Audio Units plug-in support Pan controls Mute and solo controls Audio waveform display in Timeline Logarithmic audio fades Scrubbing with or without pitch shifting Voice Over tool for adding narrations directly to Timeline Audio level overlays can be viewed in the Timeline Isolate audio tracks with solo and mute controls No re-rendering is required when muted tracks are reactivated
Custom music creation Import Final Cut Express HD video with scoring markers 4000 royalty-free loops and sound effects Audio effects plug-ins Powerful search engine Matches keys and tempos of combined loops All work performed in real time Support for Apple Loops, AIFF, WAV, MP3, and Acid formats Professional audio effects Mac OS X Audio Units plug-in support Fully automated mixing and effects

Titling

Use standard and scrolling text generators to create titles that crawl, scroll, or appear in the lower third of the screen Combine titles with other filters, effects, and compositing for unlimited creative expression Include non-Latin alphabet characters and symbols with full Unicode support

LiveType

Animated title and motion graphics creation Unicode system font support 10GB of royalty-free animated content, including 36 LiveFonts and hundreds of background textures and objects Sophisticated project templates for DV and HDV Over 200 customizable effects Keyframe animation Custom effects creation
Real-time wireframe preview Canvas RAM preview Import wide variety of formats Resolution independent and scalable Dynamic individual character control Animation for rolls and crawls Type on a curve FontMaker utility for creating custom LiveFonts Drag and drop to the Final Cut Express HD Timeline with auto-updating

Output

Print to Video command lets you record a sequence or clip back to your DV or HDV device Footage can be looped if you want to output your program multiple times on the same tape Sequence, scoring, chapter, and compression markers Marker exports to iDVD for chapter settings Scoring marker exports to Soundtrack Projects can be exported using any QuickTime file format, including MPEG-4, for distribution via email or the web Digital Cinema Desktop allows full-screen, real-time preview playback

Streamlined workflow

Full Unicode support Dynamic window resizing Mode-free interface for workflow efficiency Multiple sequences and projects open simultaneously 99 audio and 99 video tracks with support for nesting video tracks together System and user preferences Easy setups for quick configuration Customizable real-time effects settings Customizable render settings Customizable window arrangements Customizable user interface buttons Customizable Browser layouts Customizable track layouts Custom, independent track heights in the Timeline

Late-Breaking News About Final Cut Express HD
This document provides updated information about Final Cut Express HD 3.5. This document may be updated as versions of Final Cut Express HD are released or new information becomes available. You can check for updated information by choosing Help > Late-Breaking News when Final Cut Express HD is open. For the latest information about product updates, tips and techniques, and qualified third-party devices, visit the Final Cut Express HD website at http://www.apple.com/finalcutexpress and the Final Cut Express HD support site at http://www.apple.com/support/finalcutexpress. For the latest support information from AppleCare, choose Final Cut Express HD Support from the Final Cut Express HD Help menu. To receive automatic notification about new support issues, use Safari to bookmark the AppleCare Final Cut Express HD RSS page at feed://docs.info.apple.com/rss/fce.rss. See Safari Help for more information about configuring RSS feeds.
Late-Breaking News About Final Cut Express HD 3.5
This version of Final Cut Express HD is designed to run natively on both PowerPC-based and Intel-based Macintosh computers. Note: Final Cut Express HD 3.5.1 is a maintenance release that improves performance on Intel-based Macintosh computers.
Using Compressor with Final Cut Express HD
Compressor is not included with Final Cut Express HD. If you plan to install Compressor from another software package (such as DVD Studio Pro) for use with Final Cut Express HD, make sure you install Compressor 2 or later. Important: The Export Using Compressor command is available regardless of what version of Compressor you have installed. However, Final Cut Express HD 3.5 and Motion 2 are not compatible with Compressor 1.2.1 or earlier.

Updating QuickTime

QuickTime 7.1 or later is recommended for this version of Final Cut Express HD. To download the most recent version of QuickTime, go to: http://www.apple.com/quicktime/download/mac.html
2006 Apple Computer, Inc. All rights reserved. Apple, the Apple logo, DVD Studio Pro, Final Cut, Macintosh, and QuickTime are trademarks of Apple Computer, Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries. Safari is a trademark of Apple Computer, Inc. AppleCare is a service mark of Apple Computer, Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries. Intel is a trademark of Intel Corp. in the U.S. and other countries. PowerPC is a trademark of International Business Machines Corporation, used under license therefrom. September 27, 2006 019-0828