Final Cut Pro integration

DP7 takes a bold leap forward in the art of film scoring...

Both Digital Performer and Final Cut Pro™ (FCP) offer complete end-to-end production workflow: Final Cut for picture and DP for complete soundtracks including music, dialog, foley and sound effects. While recent advances in DP have made it the undisputed leader in film scoring features, DP7's Final Cut Pro XML file interchange features could very well revolutionize the way film scoring and soundtrack production is done.

The two most pressing challenges for any soundtrack producer are tight deadlines and last-minute picture edits. DP7 now allows for a dynamic link between the FCP editor and the soundtrack producer working in DP7. This link can be managed remotely via emailed XML interchange files (which are very small) or via a dynamic link between DP7 and Final Cut running side by side on the same computer.

Here's how it works. When picture edits are made in Final Cut, the FCP editor can export an XML file that describes all current edits, which the DP7 composer/editor can simply import to then compare and conform all music and audio tracks to the latest picture edits. All changes are displayed in DP7's "Import Final Cut Pro XML" window, which provides a complete, detailed list of every new picture edit.

Double-click any edit in the list, and DP7 scrolls to and highlights the location of the edit in the Sequence Editor time line. The highlight shows a blue border (old position) and red border (new position) for each picture edit. The DP7 composer/editor can then adjust their conductor track, audio data and/or MIDI data as necessary to conform to the new edit, "snapping" their edits to the vertical red line if necessary.

If DP7 is running on the same computer as Final Cut Pro, the "Export Final Cut Pro XML" command sends all tracks (and all sequences) in the current DP project to the project currently open in Final Cut Pro (or any FCP file on disk, if desired), allowing easy transfer of all work done in DP7 into Final Cut at any point during the production process, from previewing dailies to final conform and export from Final Cut.

In the pressure-cooker world of film and broadcast, soundtrack production most often happens late in the overall production cycle, and these time-saving features offer the possibility for a quantum leap forward in up-to-the-minute delivery of changes to music and sound for picture.