[Updated Sept. 21 with a few extra details and the link to the free trial.]
[Updated with a link for the QuickTime update.]
[Updated with more information on Roles, and clarification on Davinci and AutoDesk.]
[Updated with clarification on XSAN.]
About two hours after Apple updated Final Cut Pro X to version 10.0.1, earlier today, I was in a meeting with key Apple product marketing folks to discuss the new features. Let me share with you what I learned.
UPDATE ACCESS
Unlike past versions of Final Cut, upgrades are only available through the App Store. In fact, if you look closely at the App Store icon in the Dock, you’ll see a small badge appear, indicating that an upgrade is available for FCP; or any other application that you purchased through the App Store.
(By the way, a benefit to upgrading to Lion is that upgrades only download the differences between the old and new software versions, which significantly reduce the download time. I’m still on Snow Leopard, so my download is, um, continuing. Some people are reporting problems with the update. I downloaded mine with no difficulty, however, if you have troubles wait a day and try again. Otherwise, the workaround is to remove FCP X from the Applications folder, then redownload from the App Store. Or contact Apple Support.)
FREE TRIAL
Also, for the first time that I can recall, Apple is offering a free 30-day trial for Final Cut. The 30-day period starts when you launch the program, so you can download today, yet not work with it till the weekend without costing yourself time on the demo.
Here’s the link: http://www.apple.com/finalcutpro/trial/
Apple also updated QuickTime with new codecs. Get more information here:
http://support.apple.com/kb/DL1396
APPLE’S KEY POINTS
As our meeting began, I asked what were the key points Apple wanted to convey with this upgrade. The answers were instantaneous:
1. Apple is committed to the professional user.
2. Apple is listening to user feedback and adding major new features far faster than they could do in the past.
I remarked that a release labeled: “10.0.1” was hardly a new feature release. At which point, our discussion began.
VERSION NUMBERING
The new version is numbered 10.0.1 – which, given the past numbering system Final Cut used, implies this is only a minor bug-fix.
However, Apple has moved FCP X to the same numbering system that OS X uses. Using that example, the current version of OS X is 10.7.1, which we commonly call “7.1”. Using the same convention, the upgrade moved FCP X to version 0.1. In other words, Apple views this as a significant product enhancement.
HIGHLIGHTS
You've probably read the highlights on Apple's webpage (by the way, Apple also refreshed the FCP webpage with this update): http://www.apple.com/finalcutpro/software-update.html
* Media Stems Export
* XML Import and Export
* XSAN network support
* Customized timecode by project
…and others. Let me go into detail.
XSAN (NETWORK) SUPPORT
XSAN is bundled with Lion (a small fact that I forgot). However, these network features should work with any network file server provided the data transfer rate is fast enough from the server to the local computer to support media file transfers, and the server supports user permissions and record-locking, which OS X Server does.
Shared media on a server has always been supported by FCP X. However, Project and Event folders needed to be stored locally.
Now, media, Projects, and Events can all be stored on a server. Media can be accessed by multiple users at the same time, however Project and Event folders can only be accessed by one person at a time. In other words, multiple editors can now access the same project, however only one editor can be in the Project at the same time. FCP X provides a simple menu choice allowing editors to move Events and Projects into, or out of, the app as necessary.
(As a network bandwidth thought, render files are stored in the Project folder. You might want to consider putting Events on the Server and storing Projects locally to minimize network traffic. Just a thought…)
XML IMPORT AND EXPORT
The core of Final Cut Pro is metadata and XML is the language of interchange of this metadata from one application to another. From XML we can get EDLs, OMFs, and all the other acronyms that we need. However, the first step is XML. The new version supports both XML import and export. While this feature will be used primarily by developers, the benefits of this feature will be used by all of us.
At our meeting, I was shown an XML export of an FCP X project directly into a pre-release version of Blackmagic Design’s DaVinci Lite! This replicates the ability to send a project to Color, with fewer restrictions and faster export. The Apple representatives told me that all the DaVinci Resolve line would support XML transfers from FCP X. (This is a correction, as I earlier wrote that this would be supported by the entire Davinci family.)
This is great news for anyone looking to do serious color grading of their FCP projects.
Another use of XML involved CatDV. Again, Apple showed a collection of media stored and cataloged in CatDV, a great media asset manager for the Mac. We built a short rough-cut, using clips stored in CatDV then, with a single AppleEvent keyboard shortcut which activated an Apple Event — Shift+Command+X — the entire rough cut was sent to FCP X, along with all the media and project data. The whole XML transfer process took about two seconds from pressing the button to seeing the new Event with media and the Project opened in the Timeline. This was very impressive.
Two other programs that use XML transfer were mentioned:
AutoDesk Smoke. Apple demoed an FCP X export to Autodesk Smoke. UPDATE: However, Apple told me that they are working with Autodesk and collaborating to support XML based workflows for FCP X. It is not supported just yet.
Atomos, I was told, is also launching an export utility for their file-based digital recorders that transfers ProRes files and metadata directly into FCP X. In fact, more than 20 companies are in the process of announcing new utilities or programs to work with the new version. (As we realized at the launch, XML import and export is the critical first step to unlocking the flow of third-party applications.)
AUDIO ROLES AND MEDIA STEMS
We spent a long time talking about Roles and Media Stems. Roles are a new metadata category that allow you to assign “roles” to clips. The most obvious is tagging audio for export to mixing, but the benefits are deeper than that.
FCP X is trackless. This means that the “age-old” method of putting the same audio in the same track so that you can mix all your dialog separately from your effects won’t work.
Instead, we assign Roles, which is a special metadata tag similar to a keyword. Some Roles are assigned on import. FCP looks at the file and attempts to determine if it is dialog, effects, or music. (If it guesses right, you save time. If it guesses wrong, you can easily change it.) You can create an unlimited number of new Roles.
Roles can apply to video, titles, or audio. There are three default audio Roles: Dialog, Effects, and Music. All have keyboard shortcuts and you can add as many as you want. You can even add “subroles” — roles related to other roles.
You can also apply Roles to titles – say to flag all English titles or Spanish titles.
When you export, you can export all audio that is flagged with a specific Role. You can export just music clips, or dialog, or effects.
But, Roles can be a real benefit in the Project, separate from exporting. You can solo all clips that belong to a specific role. For example, you can just listen to all dialog clips.
You can highlight all clips that belong to a specific Role – for instance, display all sound effects clips.
You can make invisible all clips in any combination of Roles. This is the equivalent of turning off the green Visibility light at the left side of the FCP 7 Timeline. This is VERY cool, because now, you can hide or reveal any combination of clips that all have the same Role assigned to it.
When it comes to exporting audio, using Roles we can export all our different audio stems, for example dialog, in a single pass. Or, for multiple-language video, Roles makes exporting video in different languages simple. Turn on all the English titles and export. Then, turn on all the Spanish titles and export again. I can see all kinds of ways to use Roles in editing.
UPDATE: For moving projects to ProTools, use Automatic Duck. According to Apple, the stems are really for delivery of final mixes either as a digital delivery or output to tape using a third party app like the upcoming Media Express or VTRxchange. The Roles info is in the XML so a third party could use the metadata for a wide range of workflows.
Apple took Roles far further than simply flagging clips for export into something that can help make sense of a complex timeline.
EXPORTING
Apple added an entirely new export option to allow exporting Roles. In fact, the process of exporting a QuickTime movie is now faster – if you are working with optimized media FCP just does a simple file copy of the ProRes in the Project to the ProRes of the export. Also, you can export a master QuickTime file and have it automatically loaded into Compressor, while still retaining the master file.
Then, both Blackmagic Design and AJA have announced products that will take the exported file and output it to tape.
OTHER NEW FEATURES
We can now change the starting timecode in a Project. Timecode is set in Project Properties.
We can now add transitions to connected clips with a single keystroke. What this does is both add the transition and converts the connected clip into a connected storyline. (We still can’t add an audio transition to audio in the Primary Storyline without detaching clips, however.)
A new Theme — Tribute — was added.
If you have Lion, FCP X now supports editing in full-screen mode. However, there are no other Lion-specific features in FCP X, so if you are still running OS X 10.6, you aren’t missing anything else in Final Cut.
Exports are now GPU accelerated. In the initial version, exports ran in the background, and they took advantage of multiple CPUs, but they didn’t take advantage of the graphics card. Now, exports are significantly faster. However, in order to take advantage of GPU acceleration, you need to export in the foreground, because the GPU is shared for both exports and real-time playback of Timeline effects.
(An interesting sidenote: Given the technical specs of the H.264 codec, exporting directly to H.264 will be MUCH faster if you use single-pass than multiple-pass. Apple suggested using single-pass unless you can see a difference in image quality, at which point compress as multi-pass.)
Apple released a camera import SDK so that camera manufacturers can provide support for their latest cameras without waiting for Apple to update the software. What this means to us is that we should see cameras launch with support for FCP X built-in.
THINGS STILL MISSING
For the first time ever, outside a Steve Jobs speech, Apple announced products that are coming, but more than 30-days away. Apple publicly stated that both multicam editing and output to broadcast monitors will arrive “early in 2012.”
I tried to pin them down to a more specific date; no success.
Apple said they also fixed a number of bugs, but I didn’t have time to find out what some of them were.
There are still some significant missing features which are not addressed in this upgrade or their announcement: Retaining In and Out points for clips in the Event Browser is undergoing a debate in Apple. So is the ability to read source timecode for clips in the Timeline. Drop shadows for elements other than text and a few generators requires creating a custom Motion template. The ability to apply an effect to a group of clips, then modify that effect — think audio mixing — is still severely limited. There is no out-of-sync indicator for detached audio clips that have shifted in the Timeline. There is no way to set the default project audio to stereo.
Apple stresses that there is far more development planned for the program.
But this update is significant for several reasons:
1. The speed with which Apple was able to get it released.
2. The fact that most of these features are of interest to pro editors; an iMovie editor is not going to care about audio stems
3. The flexibility Roles provide as part of the editing process is really amazing.
If you currently own FCP X, I recommend you get the update as time permits.
Let me know what you think.
Larry
P.S. If you have purchased my Final Cut Pro X training, I will be providing a FREE upgrade later this month highlighting how to use the new features. (This update applies to all new purchases as well.) We’ll send you an email notice when our update is available. Learn more about my FCP X training here: www.larryjordan.biz/fcpx
91 Responses to Full Details: Apple Updates Final Cut Pro X
← Older Comments Newer Comments →-
Chadwick Shoults says:
September 22, 2011 at 12:19 pm
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Larry says:
September 22, 2011 at 1:33 pm
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Marcus R. Moore says:
September 22, 2011 at 2:06 pm
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Dick Applebaum says:
September 22, 2011 at 3:40 pm
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Larry says:
September 22, 2011 at 4:14 pm
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Jeff Orig says:
September 22, 2011 at 7:29 pm
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Evan Krueger says:
September 22, 2011 at 10:03 pm
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Cooper says:
September 23, 2011 at 4:57 am
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Larry says:
September 23, 2011 at 10:19 am
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Cooper says:
September 23, 2011 at 5:16 am
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Evan Krueger says:
September 23, 2011 at 11:56 am
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nickeditor says:
September 23, 2011 at 12:24 pm
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Larry says:
September 23, 2011 at 12:29 pm
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Mal says:
September 24, 2011 at 3:14 am
← Older Comments Newer Comments →Larry can you clarify some misunderstanding I have about multiple editors accessing the same media on the XSAN at the same time?
How is this possible?
My interpretation is the media must be in an Event. And only 1 person can be ‘checked into’ a SAN location where an event would be stored.
Is there a way to access the same folder of video at the same time from 2 or more machines? I understand that the projects would obviously be in different san locations. Example would be 2 editors cutting different segments of the same show.
Media can be linked to, without being copied into the Event folder. This is an import preference which you can change on a file by file basis.
So, media stored on a server can be accessed by multiple editors because each of them are linking to the same file, without copying it to the Event folder.
Only one person per Project – at a time – but this is not true for Events – stored on the SAN – or media.
Larry
@Nivardo. If that’s the way you want it then editing software will never change, never get better.
What’s the state of editing software now but the edict that was in place when you started? You didn’t have a hand in deciding how FCP/AVID/Premier were put together, or how they’ve evolved in the last 10 years.
AVID as a company knows it’s market, but it’s also very restricted in how it can grow or evolve it’s platform for fear of upsetting it’s user base, who are obviously more worried about securing work and meeting deadlines than learning new tools.
Apple, of any of these companies, can afford a short term fervour over this shift. They’re not going to go out of business if FCPX doesn’t bring in a certain level of profit- they have LOTS of other streams of revenue. So they can take the short-term hit and build up a new user base of younger editors who aren’t coming in with the same preconceptions as those who’ve been cutting for years do. Build up the functionality- much more quickly than FCP originally did.
Apple is providing choice in the market. I don’t think everything they’ve done is perfect, but I do think it’s worth working through to see what works better than what I’m doing now. And I can say from personal experience that some of the things in FCPX are undoubtable faster and easier than their FCP7 counterparts.
Larry Sep 22, 2011 13:33
“Media can be linked to, without being copied into the Event folder. This is an import preference which you can change on a file by file basis.
So, media stored on a server can be accessed by multiple editors because each of them are linking to the same file, without copying it to the Event folder.
Only one person per Project – at a time – but this is not true for Events – stored on the SAN – or media.”
Ahhh… clear thinking.
With everything stored on a SAN:
1) The media is sharable by multiple concurrent users
2) A project (Events: database/metadata, storyline(s): database/metadata/edits) is sharable one user at a time.
Are you sure about events stored on the SAN being concurrently sharable by multiple users?
It would appear to make more sense to have:
3) An event (database/metadata) shareable one user at a time. (I would think that the organization would have a standard set of in/outs, ratings (favorites/rejects), style of tags, smart collections, etc. This would likely be done by an assistant editor.
4) Any editor could copy an event and apply his own style of ratings, tags, smart collections, etc. — his own metadata and database enhancements to the enterprise standard.
5) At some future point, the sharing and databasees could be enhanced so that all events and projects are concurrently shareable, with each editor doing his own thing with events and the storyline(s):
— each editor could see the standard event metadata in addition to his own
— each editor could selectively choose to display and use the event metadata of other editors-
— each editor could see the entire storyline(s)
— each editor could request to checkout a portion (or all)
of the storyline(s) to work on exclusively
— I can see the concept of auditions being very useful where several editors are working on [parts of or all of] the same story line.
Concurrent, multiple-user sharing is one of the advantage of databases — and, I suspect, one of the reasons Apple chose to use them in FCPX.
Dick:
I am not an expert in how Apple has implemented this. My understanding is based on what I was told. However, I don’t feel comfortable confirming or denying your questions until I learn more.
Larry
@JSW
Actually, the point you bring up is what I meant as the only attribute that I think CS5.5 has over FCP7. Sorry, I was too specific to my particular workflow by only saying H.264. What I really meant to say was that CS5.5’s incorporation of the Mercury Playback Engine and the ability to handle any footage with no transcoding is the only feature that is better than FCP7 (in my opinion). I personally believe FCP7 does everything else a little bit better, more efficiently, or more intuitively than CS5.5.
And I too have no Avid experience, though I heard it is really awesome. I already owned the Adobe CS collection and thought it made sense to upgrade since I use the other tools: AE, PS, AI, etc. At first I thought, I could just use all of the tools in the Adobe ecosphere. But I much prefer FCP7 over Premiere CS5.5. That’s what prompted me to look at FCPX. I wanted the speed and convenience of no prior transcoding.
I find it disheartening that there persists an air of FCPX hatred that, even after one would have expected the fervor to die down, continues to pervade these comment threads. I believe this update and a commitment to future fixes/additions is a show of good faith from Apple. I have no doubt that the Final Cut engineers are looking to right the wrongs a messy launch created. However, the general negativity broadcast by a very vocal sect of the editing community is doing real damage to the potential this program has going forward. Being a college student studying film-making and engineering, I have many opportunities to discuss the new software with fellow students. To date, I am the only student in my major to have actually worked with the software – a fact I find disappointing. However, despite having no experience with the program, my fellow students have mostly soured to idea that this new iteration would offer anything beneficial. I feel that the naysayers are so adamant in their damnation of the product that potential users are robbed of the opportunity to experience the new paradigm themselves. If Apple has wronged you so greatly that you feel the need to vent I understand. That said, I maintain two things:
1.) Any professional worth his/her salt would not have jumped head-first into a new version of an program, let alone a completely redesigned/different application. For that reason, those looking to open existing [FCP7] projects in X or looking to start work right away in FCPX are working incorrectly.
* My one caveat is that there are perfectly legitimate reasons to open FCP7 projects in X, but not it would be unwise to do it soon after launch.
2.) Enough time has passed that editors who used FCP7 and could not bear the idea of moving to X should be able to make informed, rational decisions about the future. Adobe and Avid have both made overtures to the disenfranchised, and those who feel compelled to switch should feel free to. There is cost and training involved, but FCP7 is perfectly functional, and will be for the near future. The time for ranting is coming to an end.
I would very much like to see the declamation of Apple and Final Cut end. Very little of it is constructive, and those who propagate it are only doing an injustice to future editors. We are all perfectly entitled to our own opinions, but there is a time and a place for everything.
I would like to end by offering one kernel of information — one of which I’m sure many who read this blog are informed. The reason that iMovie ’08, ’09, etc and FCPX are so close in appearance is that the current incarnation of iMovie was built as an application for the Final Cut suite. The program was called First Cut, and it was intended solely for the importing of footage and building a [very] rough cut. I have no doubt — be it Mr. Jobs or whoever — that someone at Apple saw the application and figured the resources involved in writing First Cut would be better used to an end like revamping iMovie. This is why (partially) iMovie launched lacking most of the features even iMovie editors wanted. Personally, I thought First Cut was a great idea, and if you think about iMovie that way, it actually works really well to that end.
FCP X just crashed on me. All I was trying to do was create a new text style and save it as a preset and apply it to a bunch of subtitles I have to do. Not really complicated.
I hate the fact that I can’t just modify a preset and save it. That every time I notice something is wrong I have to save a new one and call it…1, 2, 3, 4, etc.
I also don’t see how to paste style attributes? Is there something I’m missing? Because the only thing I’ve seen is copy and then later paste effects, but the color and size and shape and adjustments of text are not effects.
Edit > Paste Effects.
However, it pastes all effects, you can’t select just some to paste.
Larry
I am so frustrated by FCP X. I can’t change the number of undos and I can’t go back to a previous autosave? When I was trying to paste the text style, it pasted a clip in my timeline (within a compound clip) and then FCPX crashed and now when I try to undo, I can’t and when I try to delete that clip that was pasted, it deletes titles that are connected to it.
ARRGGGHHH
As always, my comment is a good example of why one should proofread.
Has anyone read this?
“only one installed copy of Final Cut Pro can use a SAN location at a time. If you have Events or projects stored on a SAN location, you must remove the location in Final Cut Pro to make it available to other computers on the network.”
http://help.apple.com/finalcutpro/mac/10.0.1/#verdbd6b23
Use the SAN one by one? Are you kidding me?
This is not as bad as it appears.
All editors have access to the SAN all the time. This just affects how Projects and Events are loaded into FCP X.
FCP X allows linking to media, rather than copying it to the Events folder. (This is an import setting.) This allows multiple editors simultaneous access to the same media.
However, Events and Projects can only be accessed by one editor at a time. Because Events and Projects are always available in FCP X, we need to do the equivalent of mounting or unmounting a volume. Event Manager X does something similar for the local system. The “mounting” process is very quick – a second or two – and simply allows one editor to move a Project, or Event, into or out of their system.
The IDEAL is for multiple editors to be in the same project. However, that is not possible. This is the workaround.
I’ve been using this “move it in, move it out” concept at the local level for all of my FCP X training. I found it to be fast, reliable, and really helps me to stay organized.
Just my comments.
Larry
Cooper:
Your “Arrggghhh” sounds like you’re now experiencing crashes too. To answer your initial question to me… I installed Lion on my Laptop to trial (thankfully discovering several incompatibilities with scanner drivers, Quicktime, Flash and Printers) BUT deliberately kept Snow Leopard on my editing deck. It’s still Snow Leopard.
FCPX crashed relentlessly when I had After Effects, Photoshop and FCPX open simultaneously (my system is fast enough), especially After Effects rendering in the background… and including just FCPX and After Effects open. I had to keep closing FCPX every time I went to AE to minimise this issue. I saw more spinning beach balls in a day than a lifetime on the French Riviera.
As I said before I haven’t updated FCPX yet due to the issues a lot of people faced with the App Store Update System — I refuse to do workarounds like dragging apps to the trash, etc, I’m not that desperate to update — I’d prefer Apple to sort out the issue professionally as they should. Having said that, I’m going to wander back into the office now (as it’s been a few days) and see if they’ve fixed it.