Hardware Review April 14, 2003
Logic Apple Pro Keyboard for Final Cut Pro
Hardware Review April 14, 2003
Logic Apple Pro Keyboard for Final Cut Pro
http://www.logickeyboard.com/
Review by Gretta
Wing Miller My initial thought when considering the
Logic Keyboard for Final Cut Pro was, well, I already know the
FCP keyboard shortcuts, so I'll take a look at it as a possible
tool for FCP newbies. After just a week of using it every day,
I have fallen in love with it, both as a tool for myself, and
for my students. Be advised, this is not a third-party manufactured
keyboard, but a real Apple Pro extended keyboard, with the relevant
icons for selecting tools, navigating, and editing on color-coded
key caps. copyright©Gretta Wing
Miller 2003 Gretta Wing Miller has been
a film and video editor and instructor since the mid-1970s, working
for National Geographic, American Masters, City University of
New York, among others. She has been working with Final Cut Pro
since it was first released, and was logging on to 2-pop even
before her system was delivered.
Price:
$125.00 for Apple Pro Keyboard version,
$99.95 for MacAlly keyboard version
$84.95 Apple Pro Keyset (Requires Apple Pro keyboard)
Purchase at Logic Website
"Wow! Nice keyboard!
It really brightens things up in here!" That was the comment
from the first client who walked into my editing room after I
had plugged in the Logic Apple Pro Keyboard for testing.
We all know that learning the keyboard shortcuts, and working
two-handed with the mouse is the efficient way to work on an
NLE. That's easy to say for the professional editor who already
knows the conventions, and can envision the edit he wants to
make, but for someone who is both a newbie to editing AND to
the NLE, learning the dozens of keyboard shortcuts is the least
of her concerns. Now using the LogicKeyboard, I talk to the students
about the function of each of the tools by accessing them directly
from the keyboard. In addition, valuable screen real estate is
saved for the Timeline by not having the Tools window open. Similarly,
I teach them the meaning of the icons on F9 and F10, and don't
even mention the drag-and-drop method or the yellow and red buttons.
The LogicKeyboard has allowed me to focus my teaching strategy
on the keyboard from Day One, and mentioning the other modes
of editing as sidebars.
Using it professionally every day,
I'm now hooked on the colors and the icons. I don't have to dislodge
my brain from the cut I'm trying to make to think," Now
is it F6 that locks the audio track?" And although I 'know'
where the 'B' is, and what I want it for, the pink key with the
razor blade on it really grabs my eye. While I'm not editing
at lightning speed, I do appreciate saving even that brief moment
of searching for the right key. The LogicKeys are nicely tactile;
less shiny than the regular black keys, and, yes, it really has
brightened things up around here.
You can buy the full Apple Pro keyboard for $125.00, a MacAlly
version for $99.95, or just the Apple Pro keyset which comes
with a nifty key puller, and instructions for rebuilding your
own keyboard; $84.95.
there is also a European currency converter and store on their
web site at www.logickeyboard.com.
Gretta is now collaborating with the most creative professionals
in Madison, Wisconsin; "seventy-two square miles surrounded
by reality."
