Production Tools & Goodies

When a hard disk is unpowered and stored on a shelf, there is a risk that the data stored on it will slowly “evaporate.” To prevent this, read this article and download a free utility you can use to prevent this problem.

Final Cut Pro batch logging spreadsheet

(Requires Microsoft Excel™). I designed this spreadsheet for logging NTSC video and, based upon my personal experience, this is much faster than the logger built into Final Cut.

Once a tape, or series of tapes, is logged, save the spreadsheet as a tab-delimited text file and import it into Final Cut using File > Import > Batch list. Instructions are included in the spreadsheet.

This works with all versions of Final Cut starting with version 3. Download size is 24K.

Connecting a Tascam mixer to Final Cut 5

This 160K PDF, written by Tony Liuzzi, illustrates how to connect an external Tascam FW-1082 mixer to Final Cut as an external audio control surface. (8/10/05).

Final Cut Folder Creation Tool

Christian Fessel, an FCP trainer and subscriber from Germany, wrote this freeware AppleScript to simplify the tedious task of creating and naming folders for each new project. (It’s compressed in ZIP format.)

It creates a master folder using the project’s name (which you supply). Then, within this master folder are folders for graphics, audio, projects and so on. This provides a very fast way to backup all your project files. The script is editable in ScriptEditor, so you can tune it for your special needs.

Thanks, Chris, for sharing it with us! You can contact Chris at: apple@christianfessel.de (10/16/04)

Gradients for interesting transitions

These five TIFF files (in ZIP archive) are explained in a FCP Newsletter article. They are free for you to use as you want in creating gradient wipes. However, this download is big (1.7 MB). These work with all versions of Final Cut starting with version 3.