FCP X Gets a Free, Feature-Rich Update

Studiodaily by Bryant Frazer

Version 10.0.6 Adds Multichannel Audio Editing, Copy-and-Paste Attributes, and Native R3D Support

Forget about that undersized iPad. The real action at Apple is with the controversial Final Cut Pro X, which got another free update this week.

Users who really hate what Apple did with the program's look and feel may not find much solace in the changes that bring Final Cut Pro to version 10.0.6. But the company has done a good job of catching up on features that were inexplicably missing when the much-derided FCP X first launched last year. The most vocal "switchers" who moved to Avid Media Composer or Adobe Premiere Pro after deciding that Apple had lost its focus on the pro market may never look back. But some users are saying this might be the upgrade that makes FCP a serious tool once again.

One big step forward is the return of multichannel audio editing, with a new drop-down menu option that expands a clip to show separate channels. A new Import Media button allows footage to be pulled in from all sources, including attached cameras, hard drives, and network drives, in the same interface.

Red users can now work with raw R3D files natively, rather than transcoding to ProRes before importing them, a huge workflow win for Red users. FCP X even has an option to bring up an Event Viewer (which displays only clips from the Event Browser) as needed, allowing users to restore the two-viewer set-up of traditional NLEs to compare shots or match action. The new "Share Project" menu has presets for YouTube, Vimeo, Facebook, and various Apple devices as well as the ability to create a custom Compressor setting as a new destination. read more...