NAB 2011 was all a-flurry when Apple announced it was finally releasing a new updated version of it’s Final Cut Pro editing software program, and the flurry hit a fervor when they announced it was going to be a completely new rewrite.  In fact, there was little left but standing room at the Final Cut Pro User Group’s Supermeet in April when Apple’s VP Randy Ubilos and Peter Steinhauer hit the stage.

Now, the excitement is back again with the announcement of Final Cut Pro X’s availability in the App Store today. If you’ve also used Apple’s motion graphic editor, Motion or Compressor in the past, they have new versions also available in the App Store for only $50 each. However the big news is that for only $300, you can digitally download Apple’s new program to see if all of the new features have been worth the wait.

Speaking of features, Apple’s got a laundry list of new one for their latest release. The new Final Cut Pro uses a “magnetic timeline” to allow editors to move clips around without losing audio or video tracks due to overlapping. It also has the ability to correct footage as it’s ingested for audio, color, and motion issues – features that were once part of different applications within the Final Cut Studio suite.

Final Cut Pro’s interface has also been majorly overhauled with only three real windows left: a preview area, a new media browser, and an editing timeline. In a way, this new “upgrade” makes the program feel a bit more like After Effects or iMovie than what people have come to expect from Final Cut Pro.

Apple has also added the ability to edit footage even before it’s been transferred and can categorize your footage based on people’s faces and what type of shot it is. A handy tool for sure. You can also assign all kinds of metadata and keywords to your footage in order to be able to find areas of your footage quickly and easily. Apple also included the ability to “audition” clips with different effects before applying them and claims to have more presets than ever before for their effect library. Lastly, there is now an option to group together audio, video, and transitions into single clips called a “Compound Clip.” This is very similar to nesting but allows for easier access to the elements inside of the group for easy tweaking.

One of the most applauded features of Apple’s presentation back in April was the ability for Final Cut Pro X to utilize the full power of Grand Central Dispatch and the 64 bit architecture. This means that Final Cut Pro X can render everything in the background all while utilizing multiple cores of power – something that no editing application does incredibly efficiently.

Though there are a lot of great new features to Final Cut Pro’s upgrade, there have been a few noticeable features that many users have already found to be missing. One of the biggest is the lack of support for projects from previous versions and the inability to import XML or EDL. Also, Apple got rid of support for tape based ingestion and export, making it difficult to use for the many editors that still need to use tape in their workflow. Lastly, Final Cut Pro has also lost the multicam feature that many live event videographers used to make editing a large amount of clips a little simpler.

Videomaker awarded Final Cut Pro X our “Best of NAB” award for editing software at this year’s National Association of Broadcasters tradeshow in Las Vegas. With its low price, faster renders, and complete redesign, Apple was a clear favorite in this field.

Of course, with all of these new features, almost every editor will want to find out if the software is worth the wait. Actually, we’ve been wondering the same thing ourselves. Thankfully, Videomaker reviewer Ben Balser has an advance copy of FCP X and is working on a review of the program for Videomaker as we we speak. Watch for that review coming soon to see if the new Final Cut Pro will be a game changer for Apple or simply game over.

http://www.videomaker.com/r/527

For all the scientific discoveries we’ve made in the past few decades, it’s surprising how many mysteries there are still left to solve. What’s the smallest sub-atomic particle? What are the limits of the human brain? Are there parallel universes similar to ours and if so, how do we prove it? That’s why it’s no surprise that for video editors there is still so much debate over the seemingly age-old question of which editing software is best. A quick  look at the Videomaker forums shows just how much heated debate there still is and so, I’ve decided that even though having an opinion on this topic is akin to playing with fire, I would like to still give it the ol’ college try. That being said, I am admittedly no expert on either Sony Vegas, Avid, CyberLink PowerDirector, or Corel Video Studio Pro, and so I leave the merits of those programs to both the Videomaker forum participants and any comments written below. However, it’s only fair to say that for the past 7 years, I have been a Final Cut Pro editor. All the way back in my high school days in 2003, I was using the program to make promotional videos for both my school and church. That’s not to say that I haven’t had experience with Adobe Premiere though. Since making my way to Videomaker a year ago, I have edited more than 25 promotional and educational videos using Adobe Premiere so after a year with the program I feel like I have a good perspective on the good and the bad of both platforms.That being said (and I’m sure my lawyer will be fairly relieved), here are my thoughts on the merits of both Final Cut Studio 3 and Adobe CS5. Read the rest of this entry »

Canon’s new plug-in will allow for simple and easy transfer of video content from Canon’s EOS DSLR cameras directly into Final Cut Pro. The EOS MOVIE Plugin-E1 will take advantage of Final Cut Pro’s powerful Log and Transfer feature, which allows users to select and mark the video directly while it is still on the camera, add custom metadata and ingest the clips in the background so the editing can begin immediately. The plug-in will be compatible with Final Cut Pro 6 or higher and currently supports Canon’s EOS 5D Mark II, EOS 7D and EOS 1D Mark IV cameras.

Apple released a new version of Final Cut Studio today. You can see what’s new here.

While we haven’t had a chance to get our hands on the new version yet, on the outset it looks to be a fairly uninspiring release. Let’s be clear though, Final Cut Studio is an amazingly powerful package for the money, but for my impressions I’m limiting the discussion only to the upgrade between Final Cut Studio 2 and this release, not to the whole suite itself. Lets breakdown the changes involved since Final Cut Studio 2.

Final Cut Pro 7: The addition of new Pro Res codecs to the mix is welcome in terms of versatility. The iChat compatible video collaboration tool is fantastic, and I can see using this in my everyday workflow almost immediately. Easy export is a nice presentation of the sometimes cumbersome compressor interface, and the new speed controls look very intuitive to use. However there are no new native editing modes other than AVCIntra, meaning you still have to do a time intensive transcode for your AVCHD, and XDCAM footage. Media Management still hasn’t changed substantially, and I believe that the differences between Final Cut 6 and 7 are certainly more evolutionary rather than revolutionary. If I had to give it a grade off of the specs shown today, it would be a C.

Motion 4 : This is the little ap that just keeps getting better and more useful in every incarnation. This release is no exception, as Apple’s added many more 3d features encapsulated in an easy to use and intuitive interface. The simple addition of shadows and reflections, depth of field control, and parameter linking make this a stand out release. I’ve found that its behavior based workflow makes it easy for design challenged editors like myself to create very polished animations. A solid upgrade for motion, I’d give it an A.

Soundtrack Pro 3 : Looks to continue its role as a simple Digital Audio Workstation, for video and film projects, rather than for music creation. The addition of some tools to handle common problems, such as Voice Level Match, and the enhanced Noise Reduction will quickly find their way into daily use. The Advanced Time stretch feature, not so often, but when you need it, you really need it. Overall this one is a B.

Color 1.5 : I had really hoped that Apple had taken this powerful tool and re-worked its interface to be more polished and user friendly, which is something that Apple excels at. No such luck I’m afraid. The only real major feature is the round-tripping available between Final Cut’s timeline and Color. 4K support is nice, but unless you have a RED or are shooting on 35mm, it really is not applicable. I feel they made a half-hearted attempt at this release, perhaps realizing it they only incremented the release version by .5 rather than a full version. My verdict: D.

Compressor 3.5: Another .5 release with a very limited set of real improvements. The exception being Blu-Ray support which is something that Final Cut users have been clamoring for, for a long time. However it looks to be quite limited for authoring, relying on Apple’s pre-set menu designs, or exporting to another more capable disc authoring program. I’ll give it a C for Blu-Ray.

DVD Studio Pro 4: No link to this as it simply hasn’t changed at all since the last version. Or the version before that one. It’s still a good program, but it looks like Apple has abandoned development for disc authoring. I’ll give this an F for plagiarism, they’ve turned this paper in twice before.

The price: $999 for the full version, which is a nice reduction. $299 for the upgrade, which is cheap enough to make it a no-brainer to upgrade, even considering the lackluster release.

I have to admit to being slightly concerned with Apple at this point. With the recent dumbing down of their MacBook Pro line, and a pretty underwhelming Final Cut Studio refresh, I’m starting to believe those who say that Apple is turning away from its professional line of computers and software for the much more profitable consumer market for iPhones and iPods.

It’s been two years since the last Final Cut Studio releases, and instead of increasing the lead on their competition, Apple seems to have just striven for some kind of feature parity. I predict if Apple waits another two years, the competition in the pro video editing space will have greatly surpassed them.

Press Release Below:

(Cupertino, California–July 23, 2009) Apple® today announced a significant update to Final Cut Studio® with more than 100 new features and new versions of Final Cut Pro®, Motion, Soundtrack® Pro, Color and Compressor.
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