Software
For remote and collaborational video editing, Apple makes Final Cut Pro X work better
Apple has now announced a new major update to Final Cut Pro X, which has made the software much more ready for video editing by remotely and collaboratively. The 10.4.9 update also adds several other useful new features, including a "Smart Conform" learning feature , which allows the automatic creation and distribution of videos for Instagram , Snapchat and Twitter media platforms.
Proxy fires are smaller , lower resolution versions of an original clip that make editing on low or offline machines easier (e.g. at home on your laptop because you are unable to access the high power Mac Pro of your company in your shutdown office).
The new Final Cut Pro X update now makes it more easy to move the entire project to another device including non-proxy files such as images, titles or motion graphics, so you can easily share, edit, and return to your computer for final color correction, effects, and exportation.
Final Cut Pro X now offers more flexible proxy options for even smaller project sizes: it supports proxy creation at 50, 25, and 12.5%, and supports both ProRes and H.264 formats.
In addition, the proxy clips can be used in conjunction with the proxy clips because you didn't have time to compress the clips.
The other main new feature introduced in this update is Smart Conform, which is used to analyze video clips automatically for 'dominant motion,' and then automatically converts them into a given size, including vertical and square clips for Instagram and other platforms. Apple is playing a little bit of catch-up here, because in the last major update Adobe added a feature similar to Premiere Pro. However, for users of Final Cut it should be a useful addition.
There are also a number of other updates available in this new update, including new Canon plug-ins and RED RAW files that add support for Metal, allowing for the first time 8 K Canon Cinema RAW Light files, and faster 8 K RED RAW file transcoding. This new update also includes a simplified command to cross-fading audio between two clips and the ability to view, including improvements on the inspector, ISO, color temperature, and exposure offset adjustments for ProRes RAW settings.
A free update for existing owners in the Mac App Store is now available for the new version of Final Cut Pro X. Apple is also renewing its free 90-day trial with an update to 10.4.9 — even those that have taken advantage of the previous free trial introduced in March will be able to test out the new Final Cut Pro X for 90 days.
