Apple has announced Final Cut Pro X (http:www.apple.com/finalcutpro), a new version of the professional video editing software. Built on a 64-bit architecture, it’s available at the Mac App Store for US$299.99.
The new version adds:
° A Magnetic Timeline that lets you edit on a flexible, trackless canvas;
° Content Auto-Analysis that categorizes your content upon import by shot type, media and people;
° Background rendering that allows you to work without interruption.
Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing, says at the heart of Final Cut Pro X is the Magnetic Timeline, a trackless approach to editing your footage that lets you add and arrange clips wherever you want them, while other clips instantly slide out of the way. You can use Clip Connections to link primary story clips to other elements like titles and sound effects, so they stay in sync when you move them.
You can even combine related story elements into a Compound Clip that can be edited as a single clip. The new Auditions feature lets you swap between a collection of clips to instantly compare alternate takes.
Content Auto-Analysis scans your media on import and tags your content with useful information. Final Cut Pro X then uses that information to dynamically organize your clips into Smart Collections, so you can find the clips you want by close up, medium and wide shots as well as media type and the number of people in the shot. You can also tag parts of clips with Range-based keywords to add custom search criteria to your media.
Completely rebuilt from the ground up, Final Cut Pro X is a 64-bit app that takes full advantage of the latest Mac hardware and software. Final Cut Pro X uses multi-threaded processing and the GPU (graphics processing unit) on your graphics card for fast background rendering and real-time playback performance. Additionally, a ColorSync-managed color pipeline ensures color consistency from import to output.
Final Cut Pro X also includes tools for audio editing and color correction, and is complemented by two companion apps, Motion 5, for professional motion graphics, and Compressor 4, for advanced media encoding. They’re available from the Mac App Store for $49.99 each.