Final Cut 7
Well, it’s finally happened. Apple has released a new version of Final Cut Studio. As has become typical for Apple, the web pages explaining the new features are slick, well thought out and come with concise and well produced explanatory videos.
New features are described on this page. My personal favorites in FCP: slick integration with iChat theater for remote collaboration, background export, realtime audio filters, and multi-touch gesture support via a trackpad (including the ability to scrub the timeline). Other features, like the timecode window, speed change controls, more resolutions in ProRes, global transitions, and the ability to show SD title safe in HD material, seem like attempts to keep up with Media Composer.
The other aps in the suite offer lots of additional improvements, including the ability to burn regular and Blue-Ray DVDs from within Compressor, support for Euphonics control surfaces in Soundtrack, and many 3D and titling enhancements in Motion.
All-in-all it looks like an important upgrade, but perhaps a bit more evolutionary than revolutionary. The price has come down, too. It’s now $999.
Explore posts in the same categories: Avid vs. Final Cut, Final Cut
Splice Now 
July 23, 2009 at 8:47 am
Gee, and all we really wanted them to do was fix the f-ing trim tool. Glad to see they’re getting around to fixing the media manager. Finally looks like we get a speed change tool that actually makes sense and is easy to use. Could have used that last month. Also could have used the timecode window last month. Different colored markers is nice as well as the ability to do it in Multicam. Again, could have used that a month ago. Way to play catch-up, Apple. Good thing I’m back on Avid in two weeks…
July 23, 2009 at 8:52 am
And the upgrade price is $299.
I also like the ability to create DVDs, including BluRay, directly from the timeline. Clearly, it’s using the DVD SP engine to do this which leads to the conclusion that they are beginning to build in application integration in a very transparent way.
Background export is another huge win. And, iChat Theater, is a great step in the right direction. It doesn’t allow client control of the timeline, which would be a real boon. It is, I think, relatively necessary for long distance collaboration — though I’m not nuts about the idea of a producer/studio exec/etc grabbing my controller from me, it becomes more essential when dealing with a person who’s not in the room with you.
Along with that, the ability to more easily share via Apple TV, MobileMe, YouTube etc is right up there on my Hit List. As you know, I keep on pushing the concepts of distance collaboration. It makes sense to me.
I haven’t had time to examine everything, and right now it looks like a lot of cool new features but no real game changers.
Some great (and free) videos on the new features are available from Steve Martin over at Ripple Training. http://www.rippletraining.com/provideoapps.html
July 23, 2009 at 9:54 am
I missed the DVD thing. That’s pretty dern slick. You can burn in the background directly from FCP and with chapter markers from the FCP timeline. We’d be using that a lot in my cutting room.
I’m not nuts about anybody, in the room or not, grabbing my mouse and moving around in the timeline, so I won’t miss that feature one bit.
July 23, 2009 at 10:01 am
[…] the way, some other bloggers are beginning to post their own thoughts on this. Steve Cohen, over at Splice Here, is one of them. Richard Harrington, at the Pro Video Coalition, and Mike Curtis are two others who […]
July 24, 2009 at 10:25 am
Ripple’s stuff is really nice for getting a feel for the new features. Over at http://www.lynda.com/finalcutstudio is about 3 hours of free in-depth stuff not really focused on just the new features so the combo of Ripple’s and Lynda’s stuff compliment each other.
July 24, 2009 at 2:23 pm
Well, it is good that FCP implemented a few things to keep up with Avid. Avid implemented something from FCP so it could keep up too…select all right, all left and all IN to OUT. That was a FCP feature we all wanted to see in Avid.
Tit for tat…
July 24, 2009 at 2:46 pm
Shane —
Absolutely. Competition helps all of us.
Steve