Final Cut Pro X features: catching up and superseding

25 June, 2012
Apple, final cut pro x, Ideas, iPhone
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In which I explore the kinds of features that might be coming to Final Cut Pro X that competitors will find very hard to compete with.

Although some people think that Final Cut Pro X was released before it was ready, the features that have been introduced in updates have made it more appealing to experienced editors.

As editors look forward to updates, the features that appear can be divided into two categories: those that help Final Cut Pro X catch up with competitors and those that clearly supersede the rest of the market. At the moment the main competitor seems to be Final Cut Pro 7, or perhaps the imaginary ‘improved and more stable plus a few more features’ update to 7.

Apple have dealt with strong competitors during technology transitions before: in the case of MacOS X, Mac users wanted to stay with OS 9. In the case of iOS, Apple were competing initially with cheap non-smartphones and Blackberries.

The fact that the iPhone and its OS (which was eventually branded iOS) wasn’t quite ready at launch followed on from MacOS X. MacOS X 10.0 and the iPhone 1 were for pure Apple fans and developers. As the years went by, features were added to both platforms that caught up with and superseded competitors.

This post compares the major releases of iOS and Final Cut Pro X, and shows that the first few versions were more about the promise of a new platform and later versions started to deliver on that promise.

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Free Final Cut Pro plugin: Aged Film a4d effect

24 June, 2012
FCP X plugin, final cut pro x
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There is a version of Aged Film in Final Cut Pro X, but the version available in Motion has more controls. I’ve used that as the basis of Aged Film a4d:

Here are some two examples of different looks using the effect:

Here are the controls:

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Final Cut Pro X: Create timelines at any resolution and frame rate

13 June, 2012
editing, final cut pro x
18 Comments

The current version of Final Cut Pro X provides a limited range of resolutions and frame rates for projects.

This post shows how to edit timelines at any frame size and frame rate. Frame rates that Final Cut Pro X can edit and export range from less than 1fps to at least 1200fps:

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Two possible MacPros: two futures for Apple

7 June, 2012
Apple, final cut pro x, Ideas, Multitouch
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Over the last few days there have been a couple of pieces of evidence that point to Apple launching a new version of the MacPro very soon – in time for their Worldwide Developer’s Conference next week.

What does this mean for Final Cut Pro X users, and users of other post-production software?

Many in the industry have accused Apple of giving up on professionals in order to go after the consumer dollar. The basis of this accusation is fact that the MacPro hasn’t been updated in almost two years and that Final Cut Pro X was launched without many features found in Final Cut Pro 7 and that it seemed to be designed for novice consumers.

My guesses as to why Final Cut Pro X was launched the way it was are for another time. My question is: What will it mean if Apple announces a new MacPro next week?

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Final Cut Pro Future: Managing effects, a built-in store and community

7 June, 2012
final cut pro x, Ideas
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Judging by the user interface of Final Cut Pro X and MacOS X Lion, it seems that Apple want to move us away from accessing complex file systems and letting us manage our projects from within full-screen applications.

If this so, the way that Final Cut works with effects and helper applications will have to change. For now Motion-created effects, titles, transitions and templates must be installed in special folders in the Movies folder in the home folder. If we need to import Final Cut Pro 7 timelines or export clips to Motion or After Effects, we have to run separate apps.

In the case of effects, transitions and titles, there are ways user interface could be improved.

Inside Final Cut Pro itself is the best place to manage effects.

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Free Final Cut Pro plugins: Black Hole a4d, Bulge a4d, Circular Zigzag a4d, Twirl a4d effects

27 March, 2012
FCP X plugin, final cut pro x
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Here are some more Final Cut Pro X effects based on those available in Motion 5.

Black Hole

Your clip is dragged to a single point.


1. Default settings
2. Different control point, Amount: 700

Bulge

Your clip is pushed to or from a point.


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How to change the aspect ratio flags in QuickTime movies

21 March, 2012
final cut pro x
2 Comments

Final Cut Pro X can use clips with non-square pixel aspect ratios. However if QuickTime movies don’t have the correct flags set internally, there is no way to tell Final Cut that a clip’s pixels are anamorphic.

In Europe since the late 90s the majority of standard definition video has designed to be viewed on widescreen TVs. Instead of coming up with a new TV standard, a signal was added to broadcasts that told TVs to stretch the source 720 pixel-wide image from an old-style 4:3 image to a modern 16:9 widescreen image. This is the ‘anamorphic flag.’

Many QuickTime manipulation applications don’t set the anamorphic flag on clips, which means that Final Cut doesn’t show the clip in 16:9 widescreen – the clip displays as 4:3 so everything looks tall and thin. In Final Cut Pro 7 and earlier there was a quick way to define clips as having anamorphic pixels, that feature isn’t available in Final Cut Pro X yet.

There are two strategies to fix this: use an application to re-encode the clip that sets the anamorphic flag correctly, or use an app that can manipulate settings within clips without any re-encoding.

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