Archive notice: This article was originally published on April 16, 2007. Links and embedded videos are preserved as part of the historical record.
In the large ballroom of the Venetian Casino Las Vegas, Apple’s managers virtually had a home game in front of enthusiastic supporters. Rob Schoeben, Vice President of Apps and Product Marketing, first praised the rapidly increased number of Final Cut customers, from 250,000 in 2005 to 500,000 in 2006, and expected 800,000 users by NAB 2007.
And big news is coming their way. First with “Final Cut Server”, a completely new product for automated workflow and Media Asset Management. Among other things, it offers proxy editing options, customer-specific workflow templates, support for more than 100 file formats, and automatic encoding and publishing functions. The server solution costs 999 euros for 10 users and 1,999 euros for an unlimited number of users, in each case including value-added tax. Final Cut Server is to be available “in the summer”.
Then came what the Apple community had been waiting for: the new Final Cut Pro 6.0 as part of Final Cut Studio 2.0. The fans responded with applause. It is expected to be available from May 2007 and costs 1,299 euros for the full version. The update from Final Cut Studio 1 is 499 euros, and the update from earlier versions costs 699 euros, in each case including value-added tax.
One of the most important features of the new Final Cut Pro is ProRess 422, a new 10-bit 4:2:2 format that allows HD material to be edited in excellent quality, while the storage-space requirement is said to be only about as large as for SD. The direct comparison with uncompressed material in the Apple presentation turned out astonishingly well.
The loyal audience also received the new “Open Format Timeline” feature very well: it allows not only different formats and resolutions, but even different frame rates to be brought into harmony with one another.
Motion 3 is now a fixed component of FCP and allows vector-based editing. It now automatically applies changes in a Motion template to all graphics used within the project. The animation of the graphic templates through the music used is also impressive. For example, it can be clocked to the frequency. Once the settings have been made, the graphic changes automatically to the beat of the music. Another highlight is the automated tracker. With it, the program itself selects the useful tracking points.
A useful function in the new Sound Track Pro is the Waveformater: the editor analyses the frequency spectrum and detects where problem areas such as disturbing background noises lie. The user can then cut these out directly. Another new feature is that surround and stereo mixes can be used at the same time.
The new Compressor 3.0 supports a series of additional formats (including MPEG-2 Broadcast and iPod as well as Apple TV H.264) and also offers simpler processing. According to Apple, the new version is around three times faster than Compressor 2.
Completely new in Final Cut Studio is “Color”, a colour-processing system for primary and secondary Color Correction, Color FX and Geometry. Apple includes 40 colour effects with the application.
Further links:
- Final Cut Studio (English)
Final Cut Server
