Apple's inroads in the industry are legendary. Its Final Cut Pro nonlinear editing system continues to find new believers at the professional level, from news networks like CNN, which uses it in the field, to KTVX Salt Lake City, which has switched its entire news-editing facility to Final Cut Pro. A price point below $1,000 is only part of the appeal; the other is Apple's strong bond with creative pros. Richard Kerris, Apple senior director of Pro Applications Product Marketing, and Paul Saccone, Apple Final Cut Pro product manager, discuss the company's plans for the upcoming NAB show with B&C's Ken Kerschbaumer.
What is Apple preparing for NAB?
Kerris:
Our presence at NAB will be larger than it's ever been before. We're continuing our investment in this market space, from broadcasters to independent filmmakers. This is a huge market for us. One thing attendees will see is our commitment to the high-end market.
When you talk about advances, will they be plug-in things or new products?
Kerris:
One of the things about Final Cut that has been so strong is its scalability. And we're going to continue to push Final Cut.
How will you show off your product?
Kerris:
The booth is bigger than last year. We have not only the huge booth but a huge classroom right next to it. We'll be able to train up to 40 people at a time.
Saccone:
Throughout the show, we'll train more than 2,000 people how to use our products. We'll give them a hands-on introduction to the product line.
Can people sign up for the training sessions at the show?
Saccone:
Yes. There will be a complete listing of courses, and all of them come from our professional Apple-certified training series and curriculum. They'll get their first dip into that curriculum.
You've found some success with news departments, which like to use your application for field editing on laptop computers What is the attraction?
Kerris:
The stability and reliability of the product is what people have come to know. And Final Cut has been very strong in the field, where you don't have a chance to go to another application if this one isn't working. What they're doing offline in the field, they can bring back [into the station] and drop into their existing higher-end Final Cut Pro system and work in real time.
Saccone:
In the mobile-news arena, high availability and speed are critical. And Final Cut's user interface lends itself to that because it's non-modal, which means you don't have to go into different modes to do different things.
