Cinema Tools 1.0 coming in May

After the online Apple Store began accepting pre-orders for Cinema Tools 1.0 this morning, Apple officially announced the software. Designed to work in conjunction with Final Cut Pro, Cinema Tools 1.0 will be available in May, according to a recent statement by the company.

Cinema Tools 1.0 is a new software package that works with Final Cut Pro 3. It bridges the gap between shooting on film and editing video; it converts telecined content to its native 24 frame per second (FPS) rate for editing, and generates a 24 FPS cut list for negative conform.

The support for 24-frame EDLs enables offline HD projects to be finished using Final Cut Pro-based HD finishing systems — a much more affordable solution than what 35mm and 16mm filmmakers have generally been accustomed to.

An Apple spokesperson confirmed with MacCentral that Cinema Tools 1.0 incorporates some of the same technology used in FilmLogic, a product with some similar characteristics developed by Focal Point Systems. Focal Point Systems was acquired by Apple in April, 2001.

Apple noted that Cinema Tools technology has already been used to edit two upcoming Miramax Film releases — Steven Soderbergh’s “Full Frontal,” and “Blue Car,” which drew crowds at this year’s 2002 Sundance Film Festival.

Coming in May, Cinema Tools 1.0 will cost US$999. Apple is also offering a Cinema Tools and Final Cut Pro 3 bundle for $1998 from the Apple Store. More information is available from the Macintosh Products Guide Apple Store Web site.

The software requires Final Cut Pro 3.0.2, Mac OS X 10.1.3, a G3/300MHz or faster with built in FireWire; 256MB RAM; QuickTime, and 10MB of hard disk space.