Wow! It’s been a busy few days for the Final Cut Pro X (FCPX) community and those waiting to see if FCPX would turn into a viable broadcast editing tool.

Yesterday Apple released another FREE update to FCPX – v10.0.3 which brings many of the much-anticipated features the user community have been asking (screaming) for to the software. Whilst some would argue many of these features should have been in the initial release of FCPX seven months ago, it’s clear that Apple has listened to it’s user community and has delivered on it’s promise to quickly add the headline missing features professional editors need.

Some of these new features are fantastically well implemented and are much better than FCP7 – for example the new Multicam features are incredibly powerful and more advanced than any other editing application on the market. In addition to FCPX both Motion and Compressor have also received minor updates.

The headline features in Final Cut Pro X 10.0.3 are below:

 • Multicam editing with automatic sync and support for mixed formats, mixed frame rates and up to 64 camera angles. Multicam has been really well implemented and is incredibly powerful.

• Media relinking for the manual re-connect of media in projects and Events to new media. This allows for an easy offline edit to online edit workflow to be used with FCPX.

• The ability to import and edit layered Photoshop files. They import as Compound clips and are fully editable. Unfortunately, layer effects do not import at this time.

• Advanced chroma keying with controls for colour sampling, edge quality, and light wrap (this is a really high quality and super fast keyer).

• XML 1.1 is even richer, with support for exporting primary colour grades and both importing and exporting effect parameters and audio key frames. We expect Apple’s FCPX development community to be very happy with this even more feature rich XML file format.

• A beta version of broadcast monitoring with third-party PCIe and Thunderbolt I/O devices so high quality broadcast devices can used with FCPX. So far AJA and Blackmagic have made drivers available for download but Matrox won’t be far behind. Be aware broadcast monitoring requires Lion 10.7.2 or newer to work.

There are also lot’s of other new and improved features or fixes and stability improvements!

Not only that, but an array of third-party announcements followed the FCPX update, all of which are aimed at professional users. Maybe the biggest news and most anticipated of the third-party FCPX tools released was Intelligent Assistance ‘7toX’, which allows FCP7 projects to be imported into FCPX. In the past this could also be achieved by going through DaVinci Resolve Lite, but now we have a ‘direct route’. What’s worth noting about the new tools listed below is that they are all very much geared towards the professional user:

• Intelligent Assistance ‘7toX’ allows FCP projects to be imported into FCPX, this must have feature will only cost £7. Sequences, bins, metadata, log notes, motion tab settings, key frames, colour correction, multicam and over 75 transitions and filters come across. Should you wish to go the other way ‘Xto7’ is also available.

• Marquis ‘X2Pro’ available in a few weeks for £65 will convert FCPX projects into AAF files so they can be easily imported into AVID Pro Tools. FCPX’s new XML v1.1 format has made this possible. This smooth workflow will allow FCPX to be used in high-end broadcast audio workflows.

• Genarts ‘Edge’ has been released for FCPX. Edge is a powerful selection of colour correction, transition and filters that can be tweaked to your hearts content and saved or shared with other users using a Preset builder, it’s available now for £190!

• Red Giant have made the industry favourite Magic Bullet Looks available to FCPX users. It’s normally £250 but for seven days only you can download it at a 50% discount if you use the code ‘LOOKSFCPX50’ so get in there quick.

• Noise Industries also updated their innovative FxFactory Pro software last week. V3 bring many new plug-ins and improvements most of which are now available in FCPX for the first time. We are huge fans of this software so be sure to check it out, the plug-ins work in FCP7, FCPX, Motion and After Effects.

Very exciting stuff and we have a feeling that this is just the tip of the iceberg…there is much more to come, so be sure to contact us for more detailed info on 020 7043 8206.