HOLLYWOOD — Editor Dan Lebental, who cut Iron Man, has released TouchEdit (www.toucheditapp.com), a new iPad app that’s available via the iTunes App Store. Priced at $50, TouchEdit is a frame-based editing system that allows users to cut projects on their iPad anywhere and at anytime.
As a complete editing package, TouchEdit includes two source/record monitors, an eight-channel audio mixer, and HDMI output for additional client monitor hook-up. It works with QuickTime H.264 files, MPEG-4, and M-JPEG, and can play 1080p video. Files may be moved to the iPad via iTunes Sharing or Dropbox.
Lebental's app jumps up to a professional level with timecode and other important meta data that gives it the ability to move back and forth from an iPad to a desktop editing system for those who want the flexibility of also working with Avid, Adobe Premiere, or Final Cut, and eventually conforming in a higher resolution system.
The app was designed for ease of operation and a return to a more intuitive creative editing experience. The TouchEdit screen has a retro-look that draws from the classic flatbed systems of pre-digital editing. The iPad’s interactive screen re-captures the concept of "touch" in the editing process and helps eliminate the burden of complicated layers of numerous keypad entries.
Lebental and his development partner, Lumi Docan, spent nearly two years perfecting the product, which he will soon use to edit a Jon Favreau pilot for NBC. In addition to Iron Man, Legental has cut Iron Man 2, Cowboys & Aliens, Couples Retreat, and Elf. He is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences, and American Cinema Editors (ACE).
Lumi Docan is a film industry professional whose work includes film projects for Marvel Studios, 20th Century Fox, and Disney. She and Lebental began their working relationship on the Jon Favreau-directed Iron Man.