Archive notice: This article was originally published on July 23, 2009. Links and embedded videos are preserved as part of the historical record.
Apple today introduced an update to Final Cut Studio with more than 100 new features and new versions of Final Cut Pro, Motion, Soundtrack Pro, Color and Compressor. Final Cut Studio includes Final Cut Pro 7, which expands Apple’s ProRes codec family to support virtually any workflow. Easy Export enables output to a wide range of formats in a single step. Support for iChat Theater also enables real-time collaboration. Motion 4 features enhanced tools such as 3D shadows, reflections and depth of field for impressive motion graphics and visual effects. Soundtrack Pro 3 brings new multitrack-audio tools for more efficient audio post-production. Color 1.5 includes better Final Cut Pro integration and support for full-colour resolution. Compressor 3.5 gives users new capabilities for easily setting up and customising their own export options. At €999, the new Final Cut Studio is €300 less expensive than the previous version and is also available as an upgrade for only €299.
“With 1.4 million users and a 50 percent market share*, Final Cut Pro is the number-one professional video-editing software,” says Philip Schiller, Apple’s Senior Vice President of Worldwide Product Marketing. “The new Final Cut Studio has more than 100 new features and dramatically expands Apple’s ProRes codec family, allowing editors to work with the highest video quality in the studio and the lowest possible bandwidth on location.”
Final Cut Pro 7, the latest version of Apple’s Emmy Award-winning editing software, includes new versions of Apple’s ProRes codecs to support virtually any workflow. These are ProRes Proxy for low-bandwidth offline and mobile editing; ProRes LT for general-purpose editing; and ProRes 4444 for editing and effects at the highest possible quality. Easy Export allows users to continue working on their projects while encoding runs in the background and the sequence is exported for YouTube, MobileMe, iPhone, iPod, Apple TV, DVD or Blu-ray. iChat Theater support enables real-time collaboration by sharing Final Cut timelines or individual source clips with iChat participants around the world, even when they do not have Final Cut Pro. Further features include new Speed tools for changing clip speed easily; alpha transitions for creating dramatic effects using moving mattes; and native AVC-Intra support for the latest high-quality Panasonic cameras.
Motion 4 expands its award-winning, easy-to-use animation tools so that video editors can quickly create everything from simple titles and animated credit rolls to impressive motion graphics. More extensive 3D compositions can be created even faster. New customisable capabilities add point and spot lighting for creating realistic shadows, or make it possible to turn any shape, video plane or brush stroke into a reflective surface. Motion 4 gives editors the flexibility to adjust depth of field within a 3D environment by selectively highlighting individual objects or using multiple objects for a rack-focus effect.
Soundtrack Pro 3 includes powerful new audio-editing tools such as Voice Level Match. Voice Level Match extracts volume information from the vocal content of one clip and transfers it to another clip without changing other audio content. This allows editors to correct differing voice-volume levels easily. An enhanced File Editor includes new tools for sophisticated edits or fine adjustments to volume. Specific frequencies, such as the rustling of paper or the dull impact of a table, can be edited without affecting the overall dialogue. The new advanced Time Stretch feature stretches and compresses audio material with incredible precision, using three algorithms developed by Apple or additional algorithms available from third parties.
Color 1.5, the application for accessible professional colour correction, now works with a broader range of Final Cut Pro sequences and effects, while an integrated workflow allows editors to complete their projects entirely within Final Cut Studio. New 4K support works natively with data from cameras such as the RED ONE and enables direct output to ProRes for HD or DPX for film. Expanded support for new high-quality formats including AVC-Intra, XDCAM 422 and ProRes 4444 enables colour corrections with the maximum range of colour information.
Compressor 3.5 makes it easier to encode and output a wide range of formats. It can automatically capture QuickTime settings, create an Easy Export template or place a mini “droplet” on the desktop that automatically performs specific compression operations. New, flexible sharing options make it easier to publish to YouTube and MobileMe or export for iPhone, iPod, Apple TV and mobile phones. For high-quality HD material, menu templates and encoding presets simplify the creation of Blu-ray discs. Final Cut Studio also includes DVD Studio Pro, a powerful DVD-authoring application with drag-and-drop tools, on-screen editing and real-time preview.
Soundtrack Pro and Compressor are also part of the new Logic Studio. This makes collaboration and simple file exchange easier for Final Cut and Logic users.
Apple today also introduced Final Cut Server 1.5, the media-asset-management and workflow-automation tool for Final Cut Studio. Final Cut Server 1.5 includes powerful new features such as lightweight offline editing with ProRes Proxy, production hierarchies for organising media, and support for still-image sequences to simplify viewing and managing workflows involving image sequences and effects. Final Cut Server now includes an unlimited number of client licences and is available for €999 as a full version or €299 as an upgrade for existing users.
Pricing & availability
Final Cut Studio is shipping immediately and is available through the Apple Store (www.applestore.de), Apple Retail Stores and Apple authorised resellers for €1,000 including VAT. An upgrade is available to existing Final Cut Studio and Final Cut Pro users for €300 including VAT. Complete system requirements and further information about Final Cut Studio can be found at http://www.apple.com/finalcutstudio. Final Cut Server 1.5 is shipping immediately and is available through the Apple Store (www.applestore.de), Apple Retail Stores and Apple authorised resellers for €1,000 including VAT and includes unlimited client licences. An upgrade is available to existing Final Cut Server users for €300 including VAT. Complete system requirements and further information about Final Cut Server are available at http://www.apple.com/finalcutserver.
* Based on market data from SCRI International Inc. in broadcast and professional video editing, identifying Apple as the post-production market leader in non-linear editing systems in 2008 with a 50 percent share.
