How many times have any of us shot our great masterwork, logged our footage and then sat and stared at a blank timeline as we simply tried to figure out how to get started? Wouldn’t it be wonderful if the actual telling of the story were as automated as the computer processes behind nonlinear editing?

Assistant Editor First Cuts might just be the answer to those sleepless nights and blank screens.

Leveraging the power of XML import and export within Final Cut Pro, Assistant Editor First Cuts can create an entire timeline based on logging information and keywords that you entered into FCP when logging the original footage. It can then actually find opening styles, templates, lower-thirds and keywords to assist in creating a sequence that could be at least a starting point for finer editing. And it does the task in a matter of seconds.

The first and most important phase in invoking Assistant Editor’s magic is careful logging of footage. This really should be a part of any shooter’s routine, but far too often we find ourselves in too much of a hurry. That is improper filmmaking technique, and too many of us pay for that down the road in the edit process. Assistant Editor can only work as well as the descriptive information you give it. Spend the time on accurate and evocative logging information.

Next, select all bins in the FCP Browser window and export an XML file. Open the XML file in Assistant Editor. Set a duration or set no limit. Select opener, lower-third styles and a keyword for the main theme of the story. Assistant Editor will have discerned from the XML file a list of main keywords as well as additional story keywords.

Now, merely choose a Main Story Keyword and decide which other components would fit in that sequence. Select multiple additional keywords by command-click. Add those to the right column with the Add button. When you are satisfied with the themes for this sequence, just click on Make the Edit. Assistant Editor will create a new XML file that you then import into FCP. Lo and behold, it’s a sequence complete with multiple tracks, audio cross-fades, B-roll and, most importantly, a coherent theme.

Critical to the effectiveness of the program is the quality of the log notes created by the editor. The program documentation specifies a procedure for setting up logging columns in FCP. It is imperative that these guidelines be followed so that Assistant Editor can locate and present the information necessary to make editorial selections.

So, while there is virtually no learning curve to the application itself, spend a few minutes learning the proper setup of logging columns.

Not only will Assistant Editor make great first cuts, but the discipline that it enforces can actually make you a better editor and storyteller. One of the most distinctive editing tools to have come along in years, Assistant Editor First Cuts earns our highest praise for its combination of power and simplicity. It should be part of the toolkit of any long-form documentary editor—or anyone else who deals with large amounts of unscripted footage and just needs a very helpful—and tireless—assistant.