14 DAY TRIAL // At Supermeet (NAB 2011) in Las Vegas, Apple introduced the next major version of Final Cut Pro. The project’s architect, Peter Steinauer unveiled the new Final Cut Pro X to much applause, outlining key enhancements like improved media management, resolution-independent playback from SD up to 2K and 4K formats, and Grand Central Dispatch support for using all cores on a Mac, including the GPU.
Covered by the folks at photographybay.com, Supermeet saw Apple’s Peter Steinauer, Final Cut Pro Architect, take the stage to announce “Something as revolution as the first version of FCP when introduced in 1999.”
Rebuilt from ground up, Final Cut Pro X is 64-bit supported. Steinauer dished out features like:
· Background rendering built into application. · Media editing before ingest. · Fully color-managed Final Cut based on colorsync. · Resolution-independent playback system up to 4K formats. · Image stabilization: "Deal with rolling shutter on the way in." · the ability to detect people in a still. · Shot detection: detect medium shots, close-ups, during import. · Color balance is non destructive as media is being ingested. · Options to eliminate hum or rumble during import in audio clean-up functionality. · Range-based keywords: add keywords selected ranges within a clip. · Smart collections: media categorized by type, such as framing, and the number of people in shot. · Clip connections: "primary audio and video are locked synced together," without knocking them out of sync. · Magnetic timeline: "If you slide a clip down the timeline, long clips (i.e., secondary audio) won’t collide with other clips. The other clips will drop down to a new drag and nothing is pushed out of sync." · Inline precision editor: a user can now double-click on the seam between 2 clips and “the timeline opens up to show what’s outside the handles." · Auditioning: allows users to "throw effects or b-roll into timeline" during the organization process; described as a non-destructive way to compare edits and effects.
In addition to these key new enhancements focusing on video, Final Cut Pro X also boasts more streamlined audio editing functions, including auto-syncing of audio waveforms, "like a built-in PluralEyes"; pitch-corrected audio skimming; keyframes replaced by fade heads (built-in to audio wave forms); clip retiming; color matching and more.
Apple said Final Cut Pro X will be available in June for $299 as a download through the company’s digital storefront, the Mac App Store.