The advent of Final Cut Pro means that there is finally an affordable editing system that really works, according to Bob Sarles, filmmaker, producer and editor for Ravin’ Films.
During his 21-year career, he’s edited on film, videotape, and non-linear editing systems. Sarles has a varied background. He was an apprentice editor for the Academy-Award winning film, “The Right Stuff,” and an assistant editor for “Henry & June,” “My Blue Heaven” and “Dirty Rotten Scoundrels.” He has edited corporate and industrial films for Levi’s, AT&T and other companies, and edited regional and national television commercials on a freelance basis. Sarles has also worked as senior editor for the commercial editorial department at Industrial Light and Magic.
“I own three Macs, a Power Mac G4 dedicated to my Final Cut Pro editing system, a PowerBook that I travel with and an iMac that is my family’s computer,” he said in an Apple Hot News story. Besides Final Cut Pro and his Macs, Sarles uses a Sony DVCam PD150 video camera, and runs Photoshop, After Effects and ProTools.
“Avid is great and I’ve used it on hundreds of projects but it was always way too expensive for a gypsy editor like me to purchase,” he told Apple. “Final Cut Pro is where it’s at. It will revolutionize the film and television editing business. The Final Cut Pro platform will allow all picture editors to own their own system as well. Soon it will be commonplace for film and television editors to supply their own editing system to a project along with their services, and charge a kit fee for its use.”
Most of the projects he’s involved with as a producer and editor, including network documentaries, television news magazine pieces, and museum exhibit films, can be executed on the FCP system with “as much creativity, technical professionalism, efficiency as on an Avid,” he added.