Loader Software Review
www.digital-heaven.co.uk/loader/
$49.00
By Matthew Jeppsen

As a freelancer who prefers to use Final Cut Pro for most of my editing projects, I’m fully involved in all levels of the post-production process. Without an assistant editor, I alone am responsible for importing and organizing media and assets. I suspect that a rather large percentage of FreshDV readers are in the same situation.

My organization workflow is fairly rigid. Using Finder I’ll create a master project folder, and store all the project media and assets in subfolders; Video, Audio, Music, Images, etc. I then import those folders and assets into FCP and keep a similar bin structure, essentially mirroring the hierarchy at the Finder level. This organization is almost never completed before I begin cutting the project, I’m always bouncing back and forth between iTunes, Finder, and FCP as I import additional media and revised assets. Audio and music imports require an extra step, converting everything to 48kHz 16-bit AIF files to avoid audio rendering and glitchy playback in FCP. Some people use Compressor droplets to simplify this, some convert in iTunes and use it to manage audio assets, some do the mp3 > aif conversion manually with Quicktime. However you choose to do it, I think you’ll agree that converting everything to 48k aif files is a pain.

For the past several weeks I’ve been beta testing a new app from Digital Heaven, called Loader. A helper app for FCP, this program essentially consists of a tiny slate-patterned wedge or tab that sits on the left side of your screen. Loader hovers over any open windows, including FCP. It can be situated vertically anywhere on the left edge of the screen by CMD-dragging the widget. Clicking on Loader reveals a slide-out tray that contains the names of all open FCP projects.

Now comes the cool part; lets say you want to import several assets into to your project; an MP3 audio voiceover track, a jpg image, and a video clip. Simply drag those files over the Loader tab to expand the tray. This reveals all your open FCP project files. Now just drop the files onto the appropriate project file in the list. If this is the first time you’ve used Loader with this project, you’ll be asked to specify the master directory where assets are to be stored. This prompt won’t appear the next time you use Loader with that project. After selecting the asset folder, the tray collapses back into a tab and Loader goes to work.

It copies over the image and video clip to Graphics and Movies subfolders, respectively. Those directories will be created if they don’t already exist. The MP3 is converted to a 48/16 AIF file before being copied into an Audio subfolder. This all happens in the background, you can continue editing with FCP while Loader churns away. The app’s widget turns red to indicate it is processing files. After all the assets are copied and/or converted, a timestamped bin automagically appears in the FCP project window, containing the files you dropped on Loader. You can now quickly move these files to whatever bins you need them in, and they are immediately available for editing. Very cool, and extremely efficient!

For instance, let’s say a client brings in assets stored on a data DVD. Simply insert the drive, drag the assets over to Loader, and keep on editing while they are copied and organized on your media drives. Dragging files and CD tracks directly from the iTunes window works also. And if you’ve got a particular folder structure that you prefer to organize by, that can be quickly specified in Loader’s preferences, including defining which filetypes should be stored in each. By default, Loader offers the following folder and filetype settings.

Graphics - .bmp, .gif, .jpg, .pct, .pdf, .png, .psd, .tif, .tiff, .tga
Movies - .mov
Audio - .aif, .aiff, .bwf, .wav

These destination folders and filetypes can be modified and customized in the Preferences as needed. By default, Loader installs with the option to auto-start and stop as FCP is loaded and quit. So there’s no need to remember to load it up, it just piggybacks along with FCP after the initial install is completed. Another preference option ticked by default automatically checks for updates to the app. The whole auto-update process is implemented perfectly, the app downloads and installs the new version, and prompts for a restart (of the app, not the computer). Done. That’s one more example of the time and effort spent by Martin Baker over at Digital Heaven in designing and polishing this program.

There are a few prerequisites that must be in place for Loader to function properly. First, it requires Final Cut Pro 6.0.2 or it flat out won’t work. Might want to ensure you are up to date with FCP before you go off and purchase the app. Due to how FCP handles XML data, only open project files that have been previously saved will show up in the Loader tray, so remember that when you don’t see your unsaved projects in the Loader tray. Finally, like in any other app, DRM protected audio files cannot be converted to AIF’s by Loader.

With Loader, menial and repetitive tasks are reduced to a quick drag and drop, and this works from virtually anywhere in the OS. In short, I’ve been very pleased with how it simplifies my media management. Loader is the intern/assistant editor I don’t have (and probably couldn’t afford). But priced at a reasonable $49.00, I believe that many editors can and will afford Loader. You can learn more about Loader at www.digital-heaven.co.uk/loader/. Download the 14-day free trial while you are there and see for yourself how helpful Loader can be. It’s been very useful to me, and I recommend the application highly.