clipfinder

If you are an editor who works with a lot of RED footage then Clipfinder might just be one of the coolest little applications to come along in a while. If you use RED’s batch processing utility REDrushes then you already know some of what Clipfinder can do as it’s very similar. But I’ve been having trouble recently with REDrushes crashing when processing a large batch of files. It’s frustrating as it’s a great utility in concept but if it won’t render a full batch of .R3D files to edit files overnight then it’s not too useful.

Clipfinder contains a batch render capability where you can load a whole directory of .R3D files and process in any number of ways. The Render window allows you to set all the parameters you need to process the files including resolution, debayer quality, cropping and a burn-in-timecode among others. Saving presets is another plus:

clipfinder_render

It also includes a really cool “watch folder” functionality that allows “any clips added to the directory configured as the watch folder will also be automatically added to the render queue. This will allow for the automated generation of rushes on-set as well as for creating render pipelines feeding off of shared network volumes.” I wish all applications would include a watch folder type of functionality.

Clipfinder does a lot of different things. There is a very detailed help file that walks you through all of its features. The bullet points alone got me excited. From the Clipfinder website:

– selection and annotation

– communication with clients and team members

– automated creation of rushes on-set

– rough edit using reference files or low resolution proxies in Final Cut Studio

– one-light corrections in REDAlert

– batch rendering of clips for high-quality output

– conform and finish in Final Cut Studio

The application is available for free as donationware. This is the kind of program that will make you want to support the developer. The creator of Clipfinder, Hans-Georg Daun, is located in Switzerland. Thanks Hans and please keep up the good work!