Establishing a consistent and efficient workflow is an essential part of digital video post production. There are now a wide range of tools available and often a combination of software tools from several vendors proves to be the right solution for many. But for most, there's nothing that fills this area better than Final Cut Server.

Final Cut Server

Final Cut Server 1.5 frees up even more time for creative work, with new features that make it exceptionally flexible and easy to use. Final Cut Server can manage thousands of assets, execute dozens of routine production tasks, and keep every member of your team in sync—all while you continue working. It now features deeper integration with Final Cut Pro, including support for the efficient new ProRes 422 (Proxy). Check out the project, edit with proxies on a MacBook Pro, and check the project back in for instant relinking to the original source. Final Cut Server 1.5 also features image sequence support, new production hierarchies, and faster searches.

Top features of Final Cut Server include:

Easy asset cataloging. Final Cut Server creates your asset catalog automatically. It scans your network to identify assets, captures a wide range of metadata, and even makes thumbnails, proxies, and poster frames.

Blazing-fast searches. Instantly access just the assets you need using Smart Searches and new Global Saved Searches. Organize the same assets in as many different ways as you want using new hierarchical Production “folders.”

New Final Cut Pro workflow. Check out your Final Cut Pro project and edit on a MacBook Pro using the efficient new ProRes 422 (Proxy). The catalog updates instantly when you check the project back in, automatically relinking your project to the original source files.

Point-and-click automation. Automate a single task or an entire workflow with easy-to-use menus. You can even extend your workflow to include systems such as web servers, broadcast servers, and archive systems.

Seamless collaboration. Share assets and divide tasks with confidence, using check- in/check-out protections, version management, and review and approval tools that are tightly integrated with Final Cut Studio.

Multiformat delivery. Final Cut Server 1.5 includes Compressor 3.5, Appleʼs professional encoding software. Use Final Cut Server to automate Compressor for encoding a wide range of formats—from H.264 to five versions of ProRes to 4K—all at pristine quality.

Quick setup. Final Cut Server helps you get started fast, with facility-specific workflow templates, easy-to-use menus, and a complete range of customization options that donʼt require programming.

Flexible configuration. The server software for Final Cut Server can be installed on systems ranging from a MacBook Pro to a full Xserve configuration. The client software works on both Windows-based computers and the Mac.

GridIron Flow

GridIron Flow is the world's first Visual Workflow Manager, built from the ground up to keep creative professionals streamlined and informed. Flow gives you a total understanding of your project, visually and intuitively. In one simple interface, you'll see all your project files, how they're related to each other, and where they're located - on a local drive, on a network volume, even on a DVD you burned a few months ago.

This new birds-eye-view of your project gives you instant access to any file you need—and any version of that file, even if you've overwritten it while making changes. Flow even alerts you if you try to modify or delete a file that you shouldn't. Bottom line: no more lost files, no more accidents, and no more all-nighters. You'll find yourself delivering everything right the first time—without doing anything different.

John Nack, Principal Product Manager for Adobe Photoshop, calls Flow "one of the slickest, most potentially transformative applications I've seen in years." Could it transform the way you work? Check out Flow's features to find out.

Apple Featured Products

iMac

The new iMac features a 21.5-inch or 27-inch LED-backlit display with a widescreen 16:9 aspect ratio – perfect for photographers. Dual or quad-core Intel processors now available.

Mac Pro

The Mac Pro features the next-generation Quad-Core Intel Xeon “Nehalem” processors and a new system architecture to deliver the untimate in performance.

Mac Pro

The new MacBook Pro is available in 13-, 15-, and 17-inch models. Now featuring faster Intel processors, new next-generation NVIDIA graphics, and a battery that lasts even longer.

Mac Pro

Mac mini with Snow Leopard Server Itʼs easy to set up, easy to run and even easy to afford. There are two 500GB hard drives that give you the power and storage you need to help your group work more efficiently.