UK kit manufacturer Quantel has developed a new workflow system that will allow drama series and films that are offlined on Apple's Final Cut Pro (FCP) to be transferred directly to its own high-end finishing systems, writes Will Strauss.

UK kit manufacturer Quantel has developed a new workflow system that will allow drama series and films that are offlined on Apple's Final Cut Pro (FCP) to be transferred directly to its own high-end finishing systems, writes Will Strauss.

Quantel will use Automatic Duck's AAF (advanced authoring format) plug-in, implemented to work with Apple's new XML interchange format, to move content, providing an editor with the chance to shift long-form SD, HD and 2K projects cut with FCP 4 directly into Quantel's eQ or iQ for finishing.

Until recently such workflow would have been impossible but the recent integration of open networking standards into latest Apple and Quantel technologies has made file transfer and workgroup collaboration easier.

The technology on which this workflow is based uses AAF, the open standards architecture on which the Quantel file format is based. AAF allows for rich metadata exchange far beyond that which is provided by EDLs (edit decision lists) or other media format exchange architectures. Data that can be potentially exchanged includes DVE positional data, flex-file and color correction information, clip names and more.

The technology will be available via a Final Cut Pro plug-in in early summer.

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