2020 luma and/or chroma range-checking tools illustrate exactly who Apple are targeting this update at. It is context-sensitive and will dynamically switch between a Timeline Overview mode, Trimming mode and Audio Controls mode, giving you access to quick navigational and editing functionality that has never been possible before.Īs if Apple’s intentions with this update weren’t clear enough, their inclusion of Rec. Only time will tell how useful the Touch Bar will be on the new MacBook Pros, but its integration with Final Cut Pro 10.3 looks very promising. In fact, at the other end of things, FCP X now supports iXML (an open format that allows a sound engineer to tag metadata on broadcast WAV files) for assigning roles during ingest, which will speed up this type of work massively. Lastly, Final Cut Pro now exports MXF wrapped Pro Res files using audio roles to create broadcast-standard audio channel layouts.
Types of clip are also now much more easy to spot on the timeline, thanks to colour coding that can be either automatically or manually assigned to Roles. This essentially gives us a hybrid track/trackless timeline for the first time. It will pull all your selected clips into “lanes” on the timeline, so you can mix them, apply effects or compound them to create submixes and make master audio adjustments. In previous versions of FCP X, you could use Roles metadata to highlight or collapse clips on the Timeline, but 10.3 goes much further.
Now, with one click, an editor can have FCP X find all of their dialogue clips (or any other type of role) and rearrange them on the timeline instantly. Whereas in traditional track-based NLEs an editor would have to carefully place dialogue, effects and music on specific tracks whilst building their edit, FCP X frees them up to not worry about where each type of audio clip is being placed in the timeline, and instead allow roles metadata to sort it for them. Roles metadata has always hinted at being an exceedingly clever way of manipulating and organising audio, but at long last those hints have become fully formed in 10.3. Whilst for a long time it has been a bit of a myth that FCP X wasn’t up to “professional” use, it is certainly fair to say that, for broadcast editors, the audio tool set in FCP X fell just short of their requirements, with 3rd party plugins having to pick up the slack in most cases. iMovie Pro (an oft used, if misguided nick-name) it ain’t! Metadata Based Audio Mixing, Organisation and Outputīy far and away the biggest area that has been updated with this release, is the way in which you edit audio in FCP X. As a professional, I want to work quickly and with minimal distractions, and the new interface gives me just that.
I’ve never understood this notion that professional software has to look clunky and riddled with tiny buttons. Like most of Apple’s UI changes in recent years, it is now cleaner and flatter, and I love it! So, what’s new in Final Cut Pro 10.3…įirst off, you’ll notice an immediate difference when you open 10.3, as the interface has had its biggest overhaul since X first appeared in the summer of 2011. Even Premiere and Resolve have borrowed a significant quantity of FCP X’s features and design cues, which has benefitted us all. However, FCP X today is unrecognisable compared to five years ago and, whether you realise it or not, it has had a massive impact on our industry. Back in the summer, I was fortunate enough to be allowed a sneak peek at 10.3 and, ever since, have been eager to discuss what is a major step forward for this often maligned, but increasingly popular, software.īefore I delve in to these new features let me just say that, yes, Apple completely screwed up the release of FCP X back in 2011 and, yes, I’m not surprised that a lot of people moved to the more familiar embrace of Premiere after that debacle. Yesterday, Apple announced a long awaited Final Cut Pro X update, bringing a slew of new features and changes to their professional video editing software. Hands-On Review of Final Cut Pro X Update 10.3 Here’s a hands-on review of its new features!
It is the latest version of Apple’s professional video editing software. Final Cut Pro X update 10.3 has been announced.