Nov 17 2001

Apple Power Macintosh G4 (867 MHz)

First in line is Apple’s new beauty, the Power Macintosh G4 (867 MHz). With the highest clock speed of any Mac to date, there is no doubt that this is a fast Mac. However, with the limitations of the ever-aging Mac OS, I think much of this new machine’s muscle will only be seen in OS X. Sadly, Final Cut is not yet available for the World’s Most Advanced Operating System.

MacMerc’s Field Manual Breakdown:
Apple Power Macintosh G4 (867 MHz)

Price:
Good, will hold it’s value with it’s speed

Performance:
Limited by software, very stable

Compatibility:
Versatile, plenty of PCI slots

Complaints:
No CD eject on the tower

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Nov 17 2001

Boris Graffiti

Final Cut Pro comes with something called Boris Script (look on your FCP install CD), which is free if you manage to worm the serial number from Boris. For the sake of evaluation, I’ve reviewed BS’s older brother, Boris Graffiti. Boris Graffiti comes as an After Effects plug in. When you install it you will find it under "video filters" in Final Cut.

A Frightening Gooey (GUI)
Boris Graffiti is a key frame based non-linear effects generator. Now, having used about every key frame based application ever made I was shocked by the counter-intuitive interface of Graffiti. Click and drag are replaced by cryptic x and y coordinates. While some degree of click and drag is available, it is very likely in doing so that you will upset other variables within your animation. This as well as annoying defaults makes the learning curve a frustrating one. Logic takes a back seat in Graffiti’s controls.

Rendering into the Afterlife
In my application of Graffiti, I built a crawl, fly-in and pop-up each with their own custom background with the intent of compositing them in Final Cut. After a failed 12 hour render for the 10 minute sequence I had to come up with a work-around. I ended up exporting the rendered effects separately and importing them back into Final Cut. For some annoying reason, any movement of rendered effects unrenders them. This isn’t the fault, per say, of Graffiti, but it sure is annoying. Most people won’t be compositing 3 effects for a 10 minute sequence, but all should be aware that rendering will be slow (even on my 867 MHz and Matrox card).

Graphics to Scream about
That said, the quality of the output is worth waiting for. Smother CG I have yet to see. With the ability to import graphics in their native PSD format and to save effect settings in file format, Graffiti is a very versatile CG and effects generator (for testing purposes, I only worked with the text generator, but Graffiti handles with precision a wide range of 3D animation effects). For many, it is a viable replacement for After Effects.

Trick or Treat?
If you are up for the learning curve and accompanying frustration, you will find the quality and precision of Boris Graffiti worth the time. If you don’t need the flexibility of Graffiti, the built in generator in Final Cut or the free Boris Script will be more than enough, and easier to use.

MacMerc’s Field Manual Breakdown:
Boris Graffiti for Adobe After Effects

Price:
$399, not bad but only worth it if you are going to use it’s full potential

Performance:
Unbeatable, once you figure out how to use it

Compatability:
Final Cut or After Effects

Complaints:
Illogical UI, integration problems with Final Cut

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