First Look: Final Cut Pro X

DigitalArts by Gary Adcock

With the release of its hotly anticipated Final Cut Pro X (FCP X), 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.

Apple has revamped Final Cut Pro's hands-on user experience in three major areas: Editing, media organization, and post-production workflow. New tools such as the Magnetic Timeline, Clip Connections, Compound Clips, and Auditions provide a smooth, intuitive editing experience.

With the rise of data-centric workflows and tapeless video recording, organizational tools such as Content Auto-Analysis, Range-based keywords, and Smart Collections work in the background to automate formerly tedious and time-consuming manual processes.

Post production workflows now offer customizable effects, integrated audio editing, color grading, and a host of streamlined delivery options.

With this new application, video pros can no longer follow traditional ways of working. Final Cut Pro X, despite its familiar name, is not an upgrade of Final Cut Pro 7. It is a brand new product. FCP X is also no longer part of a suite of applications such as Final Cut Studio, but rather one of a trio of component parts that include Final Cut Pro X (£150 plus VAT), Motion 5 (£25), and Compressor 4 (£25). All are available separately for download from the Mac App Store. There will be no boxed copies. read more...