It’s a long standing joke that I would use Final Cut Server for Smart Searches alone. I usually pull this particular quip out of the hat when I’m asked why an editor would involve himself so heavily in the use of a tool that’s often regarded as the domain of the techie in the room (try me, I have limited material). The truth is, I first saw Final Cut Server as an editor’s tool, obviously there’s a lot more to it, but Smart Searches were the feature that first sold me and it’s a feature that’s revolutionised the way I work.

When I’m in the edit suite today there’s no more sorting and resorting of clips into a myriad of bins. I no longer need to rearrange footage based on a variety of contexts because I use Smart Searches in Final Cut Server to manage my footage. To do this effectively I spend time defining an appropriate metadata structure to fulfil the needs of the specific project. Once everything’s properly catalogued and labelled I’m able to search for clips, locating the next shot, or collection of potential shots with ease. The searches I make are based on a precise criteria, for example when cutting a narrative drama I might search for “good”, “close ups” of a “character”, in a chosen “scene”. I can then save the results of this search and return to them whenever I need to. The best part is that saved searches will update dynamically as I add more clips with relevant metadata.

If you’ve never worked with Final Cut Server, but have used Smart Folders in Mac OS X, Smart Playlists in iTunes, Smart Mailboxes in Mail or Smart Albums in iPhoto you’ll recognise the functionality. I do all this work quite merrily, with nary a look back to the dark days of hunting around bins for the I-think-that-I remember-seeing-it-a-week-last-Wednesday-clip or the really-really-great-moment-that-we-must-not-misplace-again-clip… You get the picture. And I know you’ve been there too (some of you even recall rummaging around in sacks for elusive fragments of celluloid). To summarise the approach, I no longer “browse” through clips as I would in FCP alone, but “search” for exactly what I need with Final Cut Server.

All of which brings me to Smart Collections in FCP X. It would seem a feature I’m smitten with in Final Cut Server has migrated into a re-imagined Final Cut Pro. But, from the looks of things as they were demonstrated at the SuperMeet, Smart Collections raise the bar considerably. If I understand correctly, FCP X has been designed to work intelligently with all sorts of metadata tagging. Some of it will come from the camera as it does today, some of it will be automated via new intelligent tools, including Media, People, and Shot Detection, and the rest you’ll add manually. Now while the auto-detection features sound very exciting, the part of the demonstration that knocked me sideways was Ranged-Based Keywording.

Today I’m used to working with markers in FCP or annotations in FCSvr to add metadata to specific portions of a clip. In this way I can quickly identify whole clip(s) containing the content I’m searching for. With Range-Based Keywording in FCP X editors will be able to make a selection, enter the appropriate descriptive metadata and immediately access just the relevant section, or marked range of the clip in a Smart Collection. In this respect it seems akin to creating an instant Subclip and the process is entirely transparent.

I believe there’s remarkable potential there and tremendous power for the editor. If folks embrace this process and clearly I believe they should, the experience of digital editing could be changed forever. Whether or not this is the master stroke of FCP X, I’m excited to try it and I can’t wait to see what the possibilities are.