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Look at what the Mac can do now! By DARREN YATES The Apple Macintosh has taken a giant step forward and can now edit video on screen, using this new system from SuperMac Technology. It can also add special effects, cut and paste video and audio tracks and much more. SuperMac Technology has launched itself into the front line with this very impressive video editing package. Headed by the VideoSpigot digital frame grabber, it's supported by a number of software packages which can make any video source look quite professional. What's more, the speed of the Macintosh/SuperMac combination makes a 386 look positively snail-like by comparison. Thanks to InfoMagic Australia, we recently had the chance to play with .... er, evaluate this exciting new package, by making our own movie from start to finish. The VideoSpigot The first thing to do is to capture some video using a small camcorder and the VideoSpigot system. This system consists of a single slot board with an RCA socket at the back which connects directly into the output of 42 SILICON CHIP Move over Steven Spielberg! Now the facilities of a big studio editing room have been squeezed into the Apple Mac, allowing you to capture video from a camcorder or VCR, edit it to your heart's content and then send it back out as video. the Philips Camcorder we had available. Supporting both PAL and NTSC formats, the VideoSpigot uses its ScreenPlay software package to capture video and uses compression routines to store the data on an ordinary hard disc drive. In fact, you can set the frame rate to anywhere between one and 30 frames per second. ScreenPlay lets you take a look at the current images coming from the camera live, record them and then preview them via a sliding controller which lets you look at any sequence of frames, either forward or backwards, at any speed you wish. Saving the images to disc is as simple as calling up the file window, choosing SAVE AS, typing in the filename and pressing return. Adobe's Premiere Once that's done, it's then into Adobe's Premiere software package where all of the editing can be done. Premiere's construction window allows you to take any number of video clips and, by using special effects, to merge the two together. It can also mix three separate audio tracks. ~ ~ Adobe Premiere allows you to view any frame of a video clip by dragging the control in the bottom left corner of the screen. The impressive effects shown here were created using Adobe Premiere. The sound track capture uses the Macintosh's built in ZZkHz 8-bit digital sound system, which is also synchronised to the video. The construction window is quite logically laid out and is easy to use. What's even more impressive is the array of effects that can be added, from changing the brightness and contrast to changing the sharpness of the image. While you're in the middle of editing your movie, you can select any portion you wish to preview by simply setting two timing barriers with the mouse. Many of the softer effects are produced by what are known as filters. Through these, many of the patterns you see in commercials on TV can be produced quickly and easily by a few clicks of the mouse. You can even give the sound track a delayed echo which can be varied to suit your taste. Taking a few PICTs As if that isn't enough, you can take any frame from a video clip and save it as a PICT file. This allows you to then use Adobe's Photoshop and make even fancier changes. Editing' clips stored in the computer is as simple as opening up the construction w indow. This shot shows two clips to be edited into a movie and the effect used to blend them together. The bottom half of the screen also shows two audio tracks which were added to the movie. Photoshop is another software package similar to Premiere but it deals only with stills. It can do all sorts of fancy effects and is limited only by your imagination. As a quick test, we were able to take JUNE 1992 43 The VideoSpigot system uses a small card which fits into an expansion slot on the back of an Apple Macintosh computer. Any video camera with NTSCorPAL output can be used to capture the images snapshots of some of the SILICON CHIP staff and, using Photoshop, give them a bit of a haircut (more like a scalp removal! ..Ed). Photoshop has the facility of being able to sample the exact colour of a pixel using a colour temperature thermometer. This is done simply by moving the mouse to the desired pixel area and then clicking. With the correct colour selected, you can then take a pencil, brush or bucket and change certain features of that still frame saved from the Premiere software. Again, you can also change the colour, brightness, sharp- ness and many other aspects of the picture. It's an extremely powerful and versatile system. Using the system One of the most impressive points about the Mac system is that it is very fast, making a 386 look slow by comparison. Even on a small 14-inch screen, the display is sharp and clear and we had very little trouble editing clips on this size screen. Adobe Premiere is simple to use and also very intuitive, allowing you to get around the screen quickly. Only on a few occasions was it necessary to VideoSpigot uses its ScreenPlay software package to capture video and uses compression routines to store the data on an ordinary hard disc drive. The resolution of the system is very good. 44 SILICON CHIP consult the comprehensive manual and this was another bonus - the manual actually matched the version of the software exactly, which is a rare feat these days. Well done! The VideoSpigot system supports just about all of the Macintosh computers from the Macintosh II to the new Quadra 900 series. For further information on the SuperMac VideoSpigot frame grabber, Adobe Premier and Photoshop software, contact Tony Crease, Infomagic Australia Pty Ltd, 5 Skyline Place, Frenchs Forest, NSW 2086. Phone (02) 930 3900. SC Adobe Photoshop lets you take any frame from a clip and create various effects. In this frame, styling has been selected for editing. This could include diffusing or using mosaic effects to change the appearance.