Final Cut Pro X gets updated with workflow improvements and much more

If you are a Final Cut Pro X user, you should be aware that Apple has updated the pro-level software with some solid new additions.

On Tuesday, Apple sent out a press release detailing the changes it has made to its Final Cut Pro X editing software. There is a lot in this update, including improvements to workflow, new social media editing tools, and more. One of the better changes is the overall improvements to editing speed, which should be a welcomed change for content creators needing to get content out there into the world.

Today Apple is updating Final Cut Pro X with powerful new features designed to enhance remote workflows and speed up editing for content creators. Improvements in creating and managing proxy media provide editors with portability and performance when working with large resolution formats, or when collaborating remotely. New social media tools automate video cropping in square, vertical, and other custom sizes for popular social media platforms, and new workflow improvements enhance the versatility and performance of Final Cut Pro — making the Mac stronger than ever for all video editors and motion graphics artists.

Here’s what’s new in Final Cut Pro X

Workflow improvements

Apple understands that a lot more people are working remotely these days, and, as such, Final Cut Pro X is adapting. The update brings a change to handle proxy workflows a lot more smoothly, making libraries more portable.

For the first time within Final Cut Pro, video editors can create proxies in either ProRes Proxy or H.264 in dimensions as small as 12.5 percent of the original. They can also consolidate proxy media, images, and audio to an external or network-connected drive. A Final Cut Pro Library can even be relinked to proxies already created for added flexibility. Editors can now link to proxy media generated by third-party applications via XML.

And if proxy media is not available, Apple says users can “adapt workflows to display either the original file or an optimized version”.

New tools for social media cropping

Apple says the new Final Cut Pro X can make sharing to social media platforms a lot easier. To get there, machine learning is the tool of use:

Using machine learning, clips in a project can now be automatically analyzed for dominant motion and intelligently cropped with Smart Conform to convert them into square, vertical, or any other sized video — perfect for popular platforms like Instagram, Snapchat, and Twitter. Transform Overscan reveals media outside the crop boundary when adjusting scale, rotation, and position, which allows storytellers to easily reposition the crop. Video editors can also add a Custom Overlay to guide them when placing text and graphics within a non-landscape frame.

These new changes should definitely help those who rely on social media to share content.

Workflow improvements for editorial

Apple has made it easier for video editing professionals to get more done in an easier process. ProResRAW camera settings, including exposure effects and more, are now within the inspector for the first time. Applying audio crossfades is easier than before as well.

Video professionals can now work even more efficiently with a series of new workflow improvements in Final Cut Pro. ProRes RAW camera settings, such as ISO, color temperature, and exposure offset are exposed in the inspector for the first time. Editors can also apply audio crossfades on adjacent clips in one simple step, use a new context menu to close a project or clear timeline history, and sort clips and projects in List View according to the last date each file was modified.

This release also introduces significant performance improvements with new Metal-enabled plug-ins for RED RAW and Canon Cinema RAW Light. Transcoding 8K RED RAW video to ProRes 422 is up to two times faster on Mac Pro, and up to three times faster on MacBook Pro. And for the first time, Final Cut Pro editors can play and edit 8K Canon Cinema RAW Light.

And there are noteworthy changes for working with 360-degree video as well:

When working with 360-degree video, editors can quickly stabilize stereoscopic 3D video and view footage in the 360-degree Viewer with separate streams for each eye. They can also start working immediately with remote content while it is downloading in the background from web-based asset management applications, such as the Frame.io workflow extension.

The rest

Apple also made changes for Motion and Compressor. Motion will now let users import third-party 3D models, or choose from a built-in library. There is also a new filter to choose. And for Compressor, an update adds support for custom LUT effects, and more.

Final Cut Pro X’s latest update is free for existing owners of the editing software. If you haven’t purchased Final Cut Pro X yet, it costs $299.99.