Final Cut Pro X Update - 10.0.3
This I think, is the release that should have been the “1.0” release of 10.0. This looks great and I can’t wait to find time to get away from FCP 7, where I’ve been living for most projects, and try it out.
From Apple’s Press Release (full press release copied at end of article):
CUPERTINO, California—January 31, 2012—Apple® today released Final Cut Pro® X v10.0.3, a significant update to its revolutionary professional video editing application, which introduces multicam editing that automatically syncs up to 64 angles of video and photos; advanced chroma keying for handling complex adjustments right in the app; and enhanced XML for a richer interchange with third party apps and plug-ins that support the fast growing Final Cut Pro X ecosystem. Available today as a free update from the Mac® App Store™, Final Cut Pro X v10.0.3 also includes a beta of broadcast monitoring that supports Thunderbolt devices as well as PCIe cards.
That’s a little dry (as press releases are) for what this update really signifies. Apple has said they are committed to making this product work for the professionals and I think this update proves that. These are not consumer features.
A Little History — What Went Wrong
Apple is well known for being a little ahead of the curve, but I think they made some crucial mistakes in the release of FCP X. I think that:
They were too far ahead of the curve.
What I mean is this: Final Cut Pro X was not ready for primetime professional use. FCP X is a complete ground up rebuild, not an evolution of the “Classic” FCP codebase that we professionals have been relying on for years. Final Cut Pro 7 (and previous) was a massive application. As such it was practically impossible to release a new application with feature parity to the old one. Make no mistake about it, Final Cut Pro X is and was missing many features that 7 has available to us right now.
This is not to say I think rebuilding Final Cut was the wrong decision. Indeed I think it was the right one. The codebase needed a fresh start, and it needed to be brought in to the modern application era. More and more problems were becoming apparent in the aging codebase of FCP 7.
However, what I think Apple should have done was to continue to support, even sell FCP 7 while they were getting FCP X up to speed. This would have appeased us professionals and I think we as an industry would have approached the whole thing in a much more sane manner. As it was, many of us felt that perhaps Apple didn’t understand the pro market, and was not committed to us. The first rule of business is to stay in business. And so when it looks like your rock star application developer is abandoning you, you have to do something about it. I think Apple has dug itself a hole in the way it handled the release by cutting off support for FCP 7 with no way to upgrade projects from 7 to X, no continuing support for FCP 7 as FCP X learned the ropes, seemingly no concerns for us or that they might loose their position in the market. That to us indicated disaster. We have always relied on being able to open and migrate our projects to the new version of FCP. This signaled abandonment and lack of care to us.
They didn’t listen
There are several more well known editors who were invited to Cupertino to preview FCP X before it was revealed to the masses. They all basically said the same thing, “This is great, but we have some concerns and we think a soft transition will be the way to do this.”
Which leads me to…
There was no transition
This reminds me a lot of the complete re-write that was the transition from OS 9 to OS X. OS X shares no code with OS 9 just as FCP X shares no code with FCP 7. The key difference however is that with OS 9 to OS X, Apple had a transition plan. It was a plan to softly switch the user base over. And of course, OS X was not ready for prime time until the third release, 10.2.
With FCP X, Apple did not transition the user base, they dumped the new release on us and cut off the old one. That’s it. End of story. And it was a huge mistake as far as I’m concerned.
The Future
With all that said, I do think that Final Cut Pro X is going to be a great product. And I hope Apple can re-gain the traction they previously had in the market, and which they needlessly threw away.
Larry Jordan has, as usual, a great overview of this update. I recommend you read it:
Larry’s Blog — Apple Releases Final Cut Pro X 10.0.3 →
Here’s the highlights.
This FREE update – now available in the Mac App Store – includes:
- Project import from FCP 7 to FCP X (via a 3rd-party utility)
- Clip relinking
- Multicam
- Layered Photoshop import
- Broadcast monitor output
- And dozens of other features
…
FINALLY – WE CAN CONVERT PROJECTS!!!
First, thanks to the hard work of Philip Hodgetts and Greg Clark, Intelligent Assistance has released a utility with Apple’s blessing that supports transferring projects from Final Cut Pro 7 to Final Cut Pro X called “7toX.”
This. Is. HUGE.
He goes on to explain how FCP 7 Bins are converted to FCP X Keyword collections, and other goodies.
MULTICAM EDITING
Apple set the standard for multi-camera editing when it was introduced in Final Cut 5 — and totally blew past it with this latest release
FCP X’s Multi Cam looks like it has features that I have long lamented the absence of in FCP 7 and previous. This looks awesome!
RELINK CLIPS
I know none of your clips have ever gone off-line, but with all the files I’m juggling over here, it happens to me ALL the time.
Again, awesome. To be clear, FCP X previously had a way of dealing with offline clips, but it wasn’t great. This gives an editor much more granular control.
IMPORT LAYERED PHOTOSHOP FILES
Meh. Never used that much anyway.
OUTPUT VIDEO TO A BROADCAST MONITOR
YES! This is necessary for professional workflows.
FCP X now automatically backups up every Project and Event folder. This is designed as an automatic recovery system should some wayward binary bad guys corrupt a file. Backups occur every 15 minutes whenever a file has changed. Since Final Cut already saves everything you do as soon as you do it, these backups are best thought of as disaster recovery.
This is good.
Transitions now default to using available media. Gone is the preference setting for “Full Overlap,” where the entire right side of your project was pulled left to get a transition with insufficent handles to work. Now, if you don’t have enough handles (extra media before the In or after the Out) FCP will popup a dialog asking what you want to do.
Oh. My. Word was that ever annoying and I’m glad Apple fixed it!
I hope I get a chance to try this update soon. There were a few other bugs on my list that I hope are solved as well but I haven’t seen mentioned by anyone. One of those bugs that I consider to be pretty major is that, very often when zooming in on the playhead in FCPX, it will suddenly jump to a random place in the timeline. This is very very bad! I hope it’s fixed in this update.
Apple’s full Press Release →
Apple Updates Final Cut Pro X
CUPERTINO, California—January 31, 2012—Apple® today released Final Cut Pro® X v10.0.3, a significant update to its revolutionary professional video editing application, which introduces multicam editing that automatically syncs up to 64 angles of video and photos; advanced chroma keying for handling complex adjustments right in the app; and enhanced XML for a richer interchange with third party apps and plug-ins that support the fast growing Final Cut Pro X ecosystem. Available today as a free update from the Mac® App Store™, Final Cut Pro X v10.0.3 also includes a beta of broadcast monitoring that supports Thunderbolt devices as well as PCIe cards.
Final Cut Pro X v10.0.3 includes a collection of groundbreaking new tools for editing multicam projects. Final Cut Pro X automatically syncs clips from your shoot using audio waveforms, time and date, or timecode to create a Multicam Clip with up to 64 angles of video, which can include mixed formats, frame sizes and frame rates. The powerful Angle Editor allows you to dive into your Multicam Clip to make precise adjustments, and the Angle Viewer lets you play back multiple angles at the same time and seamlessly cut between them.
Final Cut Pro X builds upon its robust, one-step chroma key with the addition of advanced controls including color sampling, edge adjustment and light wrap. You can tackle complex keying challenges right in Final Cut Pro X, without having to export to a motion graphics application, and view your results instantly with realtime playback.
In the seven months since launch, the third party ecosystem around Final Cut Pro X has expanded dramatically. XML-compatible software like DaVinci Resolve and CatDV provide tight integration for tasks such as color correction and media management. The new 7toX app from Intelligent Assistance uses XML to import Final Cut Pro 7 projects into Final Cut Pro X. In addition, some of the industry’s largest visual effects developers, including GenArts and Red Giant, have developed motion graphics plug-ins that take advantage of the speed and real-time preview capabilities of Final Cut Pro X.
Broadcast monitoring in Final Cut Pro X is currently in beta and allows you to connect to waveform displays, vectorscopes, and calibrated, high-quality monitors to ensure that your project meets broadcast specifications. Final Cut Pro X supports monitoring of video and audio through Thunderbolt I/O devices, as well as through third party PCIe cards.
Pricing & Availability
Final Cut Pro X v10.0.3 is available from the Mac App Store for $299.99 (US) to new users, or as a free update for existing Final Cut Pro X customers. A 30-day free trial of Final Cut Pro X is available at www.apple.com/finalcutpro/trial. Full system requirements and more information on Final Cut Pro X can be found at www.apple.com/finalcutpro.
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