Apple Releases Final Cut Pro X

Apple has finally released the highly-anticipated new version of its popular video editing software, Final Cut Pro X, and it's a big change from previous editions.

The 64-bit Final Cut Pro X will be sold exclusively through the Apple App Store for $299.99. The program is not just an update, but a completely revamped program rebuilt from the bottom up.

"Just as the transcontinental railroad permanently changed 19th century America -- in a wide variety of ways -- Final Cut Pro X has the same capability," wrote video expert Larry Jordan. "I think that within the next 18 months virtually all of us will be running FCP X and wondering how we lived without it. It’s that good."

Some of the new features you'll find on Final Cut Pro X:

- The Magnetic Timeline lets users arrange clips simply, so that clips slide out of the way, instead of the tracks that characterized the old Final Cut editions.

- Clip Connections can link clips to things like sound effects or titles, so that they stay synced when moved together. Other clips can be put together into a Compound Clip so that they can be edited as a single clip. Auditions lets users go between clip collections so you can compare alternative shots.

- Content Auto-Analysis scans imported content and tags it with information so that the program can create Smart Collections which could include distinction by the kind of shot it is, the sort of media it contains, or even the number of people in the shot. Clips can be manually tagged as well for easy organization.

- Rendering now takes place in background, which USA Today says contributes to faster editing speeds, and reduces interruptions. Different kinds of video footage in different formats can be put into the same file.

Final Cut Pro X has earned praise already. Macworld is impressed with the new release, writing of the software, "Apple breaks new ground—not just with its flagship video editor's interface and underlying infrastructure—but with the whole mindset of what it means to be a working professional video editor."

What do you make of it? Is it worth its pricetag? Let us know below.

Two other apps, Motion 5 for graphics and Compressor 4 for encoding are also available for $49.99 each.

Comments

[tob221]

02:23 AM on 06/24/2011

Well looks like im sticking with After Effects! At least Adobe is "pro" Apple should just call it simply Final Cut X, but now they have imovie and final cut pro x....... and the difference is? HAhaha

[dangalang72]

11:16 AM on 06/23/2011

Been Using FCP since version 1. This is not an upgrade but a downgrade. Asking a professional editor to use this is like asking a professional baseball player to use a wet noodle instead of a bat. Apple isn't interested in the pro market anymore, as it isn't large enough for the shareholders. This is for hobbyists and kids uploading videos for YouTube. It's a major blunder for Apple. I hope they wake up and resume support for Final Cut Studio.

[danivers]

01:33 PM on 06/22/2011

As a former editor, (AVID Media Composer), I can't think of a single professional who would call this good news. Professional video editing isn't about the convenience of "drag n' drop". That's what iMovie is for.

When it's done properly, professional video editing should seem like actual work. Tedious, detailed, soul-crushingly boring, work. Because it is. If it isn't, then you're simply not very good at it. Better go book another wedding video job.

Crap like this only devalues the skills of actual professionals and makes it harder for the average consumer to appreciate our work.

Thanks again Apple, for re-enforcing the idea that everyone is an artist now. All that attitude does is fill the world with bad artists and makes it harder for the real ones to earn a paycheck.

[vancortlandt]

11:20 PM on 06/21/2011

For my purposes - delivering professional video content - FCP X is completely useless. Arrogance beyond measure that Apple would think anyone who makes a living in this business would buy this nonsense. Shame on them.

[Temsi]

08:26 PM on 06/21/2011

It's DOA as far as I'm concerned. It has no XML or EDL import/export, which makes it pretty much useless in a professional environment where multiple tools are used on a project.
It's missing way too many pro features that supposedly will be "in a future version" to make this anything other than a slick looking update to iMovie.

[Chewbaccapits]

08:45 PM on 06/21/2011

General statements make you look quite foolish.

[Temsi]

09:02 PM on 06/21/2011

Listen, fanboy, I'm a pro - I do this stuff for a living.
The lack of XML and EDL is a major problem for those of us who deal with this stuff. There's lay to tape option - which may not seem that bad in this age of youtube, but many professionals still need to deliver tapes to clients, including major television networks.
There's no multi camera editing anymore. It's gone.
The color correction features of Color have been stripped down to make them easier to use for consumers, which makes no sense in a "pro" app. Fortunately, DaVinci Resolve can detect scene changes in a completed Quicktime and split it into clips again.
To get the project into After Effects, you'd either need to import clip for clip and rebuild the edit, or import the whole sequence as one file and then manually split the timeline into clips - which of course means no extra frames on each side, which are often needed when painting out elements.
With FCP7, you could export an XML, import that into Premiere and then open the Premiere project in After Effects, with all cuts retained, with handles on each clip in cases where you need to grab extra frames from either side. Not an ideal path, but infinitely better than what this "update" gives us.

Unlike you, I'm not going to resort to personal attacks - only speak from professional experience and considerable knowledge. Maybe you'd like to chime in with your experience

[writerjohnny]

10:14 PM on 06/21/2011

"General statements make you look quite foolish. " is a general statement that makes you look quite foolish.

[apefool]

08:11 PM on 06/21/2011

playing catch up to adobe? Glad i switched back

[HelloAndrew]

06:59 PM on 06/21/2011

Is it worth a pricetag much less than any previous version or competing product?

I've learned through hard experience to mistrust Apple's Final Cut new version feature claims, however, the overall rethinking of the interface and the workflows possible seems absolutely brilliant. I don't go for the black background, hopefully that's customizable, but the whole new concept looks vastly easier and quicker to use, with all the features and more of previous versions, but all much easier to use with much less technical slogging through windows, menus, tiny text and other monsters that kill creativity.

I do feel a bit burned by having to buy new versions over and over and over and over again, but if they keep bringing the price radically lower, it does make up for that insult quite a bit.

I'm in! This could revive long stagnant projects for me, reduce the learning curve and human hour time cost of editing, which along with the price drop and inclusion of color and sound at no additional cost should dramatically democratize filmmaking, just in time for the now ubiquity of cameras and free online video hosts.