Auto Collapse is a very cool little one-trick-pony software by Edit Mule (so it’s a one-trick-mule?) that can quickly simplify a sloppy, complex FCP timeline. Scott Simmons has the word over at PVC.

Scott posted a nice review of the recently updated color correction and grading plugin for Final Cut Pro. The new color selection tools for secondaries look like they alone are worth the price of admission.

With the release of Canon’s XF300 and XF305 camcorders, no doubt forum threads and geek discussions will raise the topic of color sampling. These new Canon cameras are equipped to record in the venerable MPEG-2 codec at a bit rate of 50 Mbps and 4:2:2 color sampling (to compact flash media, no less). In contrast, cameras in this price range generally utilize a much lower bitrate and 4:2:0 (HDV & XDCAM EX) or 4:1:1 (DV) color sampling. Canon DSLRs also chroma subsample at 4:2:0.

So while the XF-series of cameras are in general an unsurprising solid evolutionary step for Canon camcorders, the addition of this high bitrate codec at 4:2:2 is a rather significant development! But what is color sampling? If you are a bit confused by all the colons and numbers, this blog post from Adobe should help dispel some of the myths and inform you for that next “who’s camera is better” geeky throwdown discussion. Enjoy!

Need a comprehensive PDF shortcut guide for Avid Media Composer 5? How about Final Cut Pro 7? Or Soundtrack Pro, Motion, or Color?

Not to worry, These folks have you covered. And they’ve also got PDFs with listings of common digital video and audio formats. A really helpful resource, check it out and pass on the word to your friends!

Jude Cotter has written a good review of Loader version 2.0, the latest update of Digital Heaven’s indispensable tool for Final Cut Pro users. As Jude describes it, Loader is “the function FCP Forgot.” Read the review over at Ken Stone’s FCP site. You can also read my review of the first version of Loader, which was released almost two years ago. I’ve been using Loader on every FCP project since then, and absolutely love this tool.

The DV Show recently posted about 14 free apps and utilities for Final Cut Pro, and they have some good ones on that list.

Scott Simmons has also put together a fantastic list of 14 apps, plugins and utilities for FCP editors as well. His list is apps that cost $, and not surprisingly I find most of them more useful than the free list from DV Show. You get what you pay for, it seems. Many of the tools I use all the time, like Nattress BBOT and Digital Heaven’s Loader. Check them out.

Over at Shane Hurlbut’s blog, they’ve posted an informative article on the DSLR video workflow used by Bandito Bros, Shane’s partner in the Navy Seal feature and a number of other projects they’ve shot using Canon DSLR tech. Check this one out for sure (finally, some love for the PC guys!).

As promised, the EOS Log and Transfer plugin for Final Cut Pro has been released, you can download a copy here. It’s free, and works beautifully.

Scott Simmons has posted a short tutorial at PVC on how to use it, if you aren’t familiar with Log & Transfer. Canon’s tutorial is here.

By default, the plugin transcodes footage into your FCP Capture Scratch disk location using the ProRes 444 codec. For general use, I recommend changing the preferences (the little gear icon) to ProRes LT, which offers a data rate of 102 Mb/s @ 1080/29.97 fps and 82 Mb/s @ 1080/23.976 fps. As a side note, I know users that swear by the ProRes Proxy flavor for DSLR video transcodes. Note that is a lowercase M, (LT is around 11.5MB/s). Confusing stuff…

Nothing on the surface appears to have been changed from the Glue Tools demo we got at Cine Gear last June, so if you want to see the plugin in action first, have a look at the following video segment…

Here is the Glue Tools Log & Transfer plugin demo from Cine Gear 2009:

Unless you’ve been under a rock for the past few weeks, you are probably aware of the following two news items. So this update is for those rock-dwellers. Apologies to everyone else, carry on with your tweeting and such.

First, Canon announced a BETA availability date for their EOS Log & Transfer plugin for Final Cut Pro. Well, not a specific date, but sometime in March. This software product will be made freely available for DSLR video users and enables simple and straightforward acquisition of footage from CF cards via Log and Transfer, just like you would with P2, XDCAM, Red, etc. It’s a fantastic standardized workflow for FCP users, and kudos to Canon for making this available free of charge. If you were thinking that this software is eerily close in featureset to the Glue Tools product we demo’d at Cine Gear, well you’d be correct. That’s because it is. Missed that Glue Tools demo? No worries, I’ve embedded the video at the bottom of this post.

The second bit of news came in the past week, first in the form of that Canon 5D MKII firmware rumor we posted, followed by official news from Canon that the new MKII 2.0.3 firmware would be available worldwide March 17, 2010. New features confirmed in this firmware update include:

* 1080p 24, 25 and 29.97fps recording options. (24p is actually 23.976fps, and 25fps requires the camera first be set to PAL mode).
* 640×480 30 (29.97) and 25fps (25fps requires camera first be set to PAL mode).
* Video histogram display (Canon notes on this only show brightness histogram, but an earlier rumor presentation slide indicated RGB hist as well).
* Manual audio level control (with meters!).
* Audio sample rate changed from 44.1KHz to 48KHz.
* Aperture (Av) and Shutter Priority (Tv) in Video Mode.

This is an incredibly useful update for filmmakers, fixes several workarounds we’ve had to deal with, and GIVES US PROPER EXPOSURE TOOLS! The video histogram should prove to be incredibly useful. There are some limitations of course. For instance, the histogram cannot be viewed while recording, only before hitting record. If you’d like to see the framerate menu and audio meters in action, take a look at this behind-the-scenes Canon promo video And you can see these menus and other details in Canon’s posted notes on this firmware update.

Here is the Glue Tools Log & Transfer plugin demo from Cine Gear 2009:

We mentioned this excellent article on Canon 5D Post-Production when it was first published, and then Oliver had to pull it for a few weeks. Well it’s back online now, and I encourage you to check it out!

Oliver Peters has written an incredibly detailed tutorial on how to accomplish post-production when tasked with editing and grading Canon 5D MKII footage. It’s an extensive article that demystifies some of the post questions, and I highly recommend taking the time to read it through. Fantastic work as always, Oliver.

Experienced editor Scott Simmons shares his tips for “edit suite etiquette” and the list is fantastic. From OS/software suggestions to things as simple as clean up your desk, he nails it. Great post.

Ripple Training’s Steve Martin has written an AWESOME tutorial that thoroughly delves into Final Cut Pro’s new slow motion and speed ramping toolset. With FCP7 there are a number of changes to the interface, as well as new features, and Steve lays everything out in detail. It’s a great way to get caught up on this new toolset that can save you editing time and deliver better results. This one is definitely worthy of bookmarking and revisiting as you learn how to use these improved features.

Got word today of FCP Versioner, a “backup and versioning utility for Final Cut Pro” that not only backs up and organizes your project files based on criteria you define, it also keeps changelogs of what has been modified between versions. Looks like a killer app for those of us with more project files than we know what to do with. Hopefully it will be as intelligent and useful in practice as it sounds. Details and a 15-day free trial here.

Over at ProVideo Coalition I’ve posted a quick tutorial for Macbook Pro users on how to enable the faster of your two internal graphics cards (if so equipped). If you weren’t aware that your model includes two cards, you’ll be happy to hear about the potential performance gains. Check it out here.