Edit Sweet

When Steven Soderbergh turns to you in the edit suite and says, "It looks too good. Make it more like video," you know you're using a pretty superior video editing system. That's just what Soderbergh's "Full Frontal" collaborator Evan Schechtman, of Outpost Digital NYC, heard after using Pinnacle Systems' CineWave video output card in conjunction with Final Cut Pro 3.

Pinnacle has placed more HD systems in editors' hands than any other company, and they were showing why at the recent Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE) Showcase held just outside of Boston on January 15, 2003. Its popular Liquid software, with levels of Blue, Silver, and the more likely independent filmmaker level, Liquid Purple, Pinnacle (www.pinnaclesys.com) hopes to put Starbucks out of business. "Processing is not an evil word with this system," according to Pinnacle reps. "You don't need to go down the street for coffee to wait forever for things to happen."

The Mac sees the whole system as simply another card in its slot. DV becomes instant 3D, an impressively fast and simple feature. For the $29,000 starter price, you might have to actually go full frontal to afford it if you're a low-budget prodion company. But it's good to know what's out there.

What else is out there? Of course, there’s Avid (www.avid.com) who brought its indie-priced Xpress DV v3.5 ($2,500) to the table, a truly accessible and customizable system by the local folks who redefined industry standard. Real-time effects, color correction improvements, compatibility with favorite third-party plug-ins, and a number of configuration options keep Avid a solid product. I saw a Reebok demo that made me feel like the country mouse in the city. They have instant special effects application. You want it blurry? POOF, it's blurry. And you can play it right back. Normally, I apply an effect and I could write a two-page synopsis in the time it takes to process.

The Camera Company (www.cameraco.com) demonstrated programs like NewTek's Video Toaster 2 Studio In A Box which uses Win2000 and is most popular with -- get this, churches. Must be because of the heavenly-looking ToasterEdit program, with its almighty Undo capabilities in a variety of formats from DV to MPEG to AVI. Running on a fast dual-chip system, this setup can run from $5,000-$15,000.

NewTek (www.newtek.com) is also behind LightWave 3D, which was used in the creation of the vastly successful "Jimmy Neutron." It uses transitions to mix and blend a variety of motions together. You actually use the timeline to scale, trim, move and extend motions, simplifying normally complex animations. And how can you not like any software with renowned rendering capabilities and a grow-your-own-grass/fur/hair-on-your-characters program called Sasquatch Lite?

Overall, the SMPTE Showcase was relatively small, which works just fine for coordinator Bob Lamm. "People get to see and play with a lot of sophisticated and specialized equipment that they would normally have to go to NAB [National Association of Broadcasters] to see," says Lamm, "This is actually a better venue... it isn't as crowded and the pace is a little calmer." And it was also geared more toward news media than independent filmmakers (appropriately so, since it took place at WCVB-TV/Boston). So while these luxuries of editing and processing were fun for this indie gal to dream about, they also offer solutions to how your movie-shot-on-video can look more like Film.

Seeing what is possible here is like riding through Tomorrowland. It helps as a filmmaker to check these shows out because you watch the Power Of The Editor in action. You can bet your low-budget dollar that the individual with the most control over how your story is interpreted, is the Editor. The more you understand their tools and reasons, the better your edit sessions -- and your final cut -- will be. You may also meet some of the best in the business over clam chowdah, and work with these people on future projects.

Let yourself Ooh and Aah over the new technology because that might be the very thing that sparks your imagination in how to translate your vision into a very close reality. Having no money may be the single-most inspiring situation to help push your creativity to another level. Your editor may not have the budget for the effect you saw at a trade show, but I'd bet you could brainstorm a workaround that suits you both.

Plus, trade shows give stuff away. You have to get goodie bags when you go to these shindigs or what's the point? Three more free mousepads and I'll be saying buh-bye to that sofa-cushion hole that developed while waiting for my video to render.