Final Cut Pro X - Effects Panel

Final Cut Pro X - Effects Panel

Following Apple’s demo of the brand new, completely overhauled version of Final Cut Pro at the SuperMeet in Las Vegas there has been a number of details that have surfaced.

Yesterday saw a video of the entire presentation posted online. The two videos (below) totalling just under an hour show the presentation keynote in full and include a great overview of features and around 20 minutes of demo time with Final Cut Pro x.

In addition Larry Jordan has posted a detailed overview of Final Cut Pro X, even including some comments from Apple executives about the overhaul.

The new Final Cut Pro is a bold move – a totally redesigned interface, 64-bit memory addressing, multi-processor support, tight integration of metadata in the project file with metadata stored in the clip not just in the project, heavy use of automation to simplify tedious tasks, and a rethinking of the entire concept of what it means to edit.

I can’t think of any other company that could so totally redefine what a non-linear video editor is than Apple. Since the release of Final Cut Pro 1, each version of FCP has contained incremental improvements. This is a complete restatement at every possible level.

As Phil Schiller, senior VP for world-wide marketing for Apple told me after the presentation, “This is a total rethinking of how we tell stories visually.”

Jordan also notes in his overview that the version of Final Cut Pro X demoed was a build from February this year adding that the product has moved forward significantly since then.

While the slide show was identical to the February meeting, the demo was not. Randy Ubillos, who did the demo, added more features and additional explanations on effects (see the screen shot above). However, I was told later that the build that was demoed was the same build that was shown in February – and that the application has moved significantly forward since that time.

In other words, what we saw tonight was nowhere near the final form of the application.

Final Cut Pro X will be available from the Mac App Store in June for $299.