Final Cut Pro X is updated with work process improvements

Today, Apple is releasing an update for Final Cut Pro X that includes powerful new features designed to enhance remote workflows and simplify editing for content creators. Enhancements to media proxy creation and management allow publishers to achieve greater portability and performance when creating high-resolution formats or collaborating remotely. New social networking tools automate the editing of videos in rectangular, vertical and other custom formats to post them on the most popular social networks. Additionally, new workflow enhancements increase Final Cut Pro's versatility and performance, making the Mac more powerful than ever for video editors and graphic artists.

Proxy content improvements

Now more than ever, users remotely edit from many different locations. Today's upgrade from Apple to Final Cut Pro includes major improvements to proxy content workflows that make libraries more portable and simplify remote tasks with large, high-resolution files. For the first time in Final Cut Pro, video editors can create proxy content in ProRes Proxy or H.264 and at scales up to 12,5% ​​of the original. They can also bundle proxy media, images and audio files on an external or network drive. They can also relink Final Cut Pro libraries to pre-created proxies for even more flexibility. frame.io, a creative collaboration platform in the cloud that allows you to review and approve projects, as well as material management tools such as Keyflow Pro and PostLab. If media proxies are not available for some clips, users can customize workflows to view the original file or an optimized version. 

Automated tools for posting on social media

Today's Apple update for Final Cut Pro makes posting to social media easier than ever. Thanks to machine learning, clips in a project can now be automatically analyzed for major dynamics and intelligently trimmed with Smart Conform to convert them to horizontal, vertical or any other format video - perfect for platforms like Instagram, Snapchat and Twitter . Transform Overscan discovers content that has been left out of the frame by resizing, rotating and positioning, allowing creators to easily reposition the crop. Additionally, video editors can add custom layers to help them place text and graphics in frames of any type.

Improvements in editorial work processes 

Video professionals can now work more efficiently than ever with a range of enhancements to Final Cut Pro's work processes. ProRes RAW camera settings, such as ISO, color temperature, and exposure shift, are displayed for first time in the inspector. Additionally, editors will be able to apply audio fades to adjacent clips in one step, use a new context menu to close a project or clear history, and sort clips and projects in the list view by the date they were last modified. 

This release also includes significant performance improvements thanks to plug-ins for RED RAW and Canon Cinema RAW Light, which support Metal technology. Transcoding 8K RED RAW video to ProRes 422 is twice as fast on a Mac Pro and up to three times as fast on a MacBook Pro.1 On top of that, for the first time ever Final Cut Pro users will be able to play and Change to Canon Cinema RAW Light 8K format. 2 

When working with 360-degree video, editors can quickly stabilize stereoscopic 3D videos and display the content in the 3D viewer with separate images for each eye. They will also be able to immediately start working with remote content as content management applications in the cloud, such as the Frame.io workflow extension, are downloaded in the background.

Updates in Motion and Compressor

Motion now offers professionals a wide range of possibilities to create stunning graphics and effects. Creators can import third-party 3D models or choose from an integrated library of USDZ 3D models for use in titles, generators, effects and transitions. They can even use behaviors or keyframes to manipulate a model's position, rotation, and scale, and take advantage of existing replicators, emitters, lights, and cameras to unleash their creativity. 

Today's update to Motion also includes the new Stroke filter, a tool that automatically outlines an object or text element using its alpha channel. Editors can customize results by animating scrolling, applying multiple Stroke filters to the same object, or using the gradient tools to create multiple brush strokes with different colors. This allows graphic artists to create stunning animations and avoid the tedious work of outlining elements by hand. 

Compressor is also receiving an update that includes custom LUTs, the ability to use camera LUTs to convert encoded content to SDR or HDR, and many other process improvements.

Final Cut Pro X pricing and availability

Final Cut Pro 10.4.9 is available today as a free update for existing users and for € 329,99 for new users on the Mac App Store. Motion 5.4.6 and Compressor 4.4.7 are also available today as free updates for existing users and € 54,99 each for new users on the Mac App Store. Education customers can purchase the Pro Apps for Education package for € 229,99. All users can download a free trial of Final Cut Pro X. Learn more at apple.com/final-cut-pro.

1. Testing conducted by Apple in August 2020 using 28-core 2,5GHz Intel Xeon W Mac Pro drives with 384GB RAM and two AMD Radeon Pro Vega IIs with Infinity Fabric Link and 2GB HBM32 memory each, configured with 4 TB SSD; and 16-inch MacBook Pro with 9-core 8GHz Intel Core i2,4, 64GB RAM and Radeon Pro 5600M graphics with 2GB HBM8, configured with 8TB SSD. Mac Pro systems were tested connected to a Pro Display XDR. The preproduction versions of Final Cut Pro 10.4.9 with preproduction RED Apple Workflow Installer v16 plug-in and Final Cut Pro 10.4.8 with RED Apple Workflow Installer v15 plug-in were tested on macOS Catalina, using an 11 second project with REDCODE® RAW 4: 1 video, with 8192 × 4320 resolution and 23,98 frames per second,
2. Testing conducted by Apple in August 2020 using 28-core 2,5GHz Intel Xeon W Mac Pro drives with 384GB RAM and two AMD Radeon Pro Vega IIs with Infinity Fabric Link and 2GB HBM32 memory each, configured with 4 TB SSD; and 16-inch MacBook Pro with 9-core 8GHz Intel Core i2,4, 64GB RAM and Radeon Pro 5600M graphics with 2GB HBM8, configured with 8TB SSD. Mac Pro systems were tested connected to a Pro Display XDR. Pre-production versions of Final Cut Pro 10.4.9 with pre-production Canon RAW Plugin 2.0 were tested on macOS Catalina, using a 33-second project with Canon Cinema RAW Light video, at a resolution of 8192 × 4320 and 29,97 frames per second (as part of a transcoding test).