by Larry Jordan

Today, Apple announced the latest update to Final Cut Pro X. Following its announcement last September that the next major version of the software would include support for multicam editing and broadcast monitoring, this update delivers on that promise.

THE HEADLINES

This FREE update – now available in the Mac App Store – includes:

• Project import from FCP 7 to FCP X (via a 3rd-party utility)
• Clip relinking
• Multicam
• Layered Photoshop import
• Broadcast monitor output
• And dozens of other features

THE DETAILS

I had a chance to talk to Apple and spend some time with the updated app ahead of today’s release of Final Cut Pro 10.0.3. This isn’t a review – I haven’t had the time for that. Instead, let me give you my initial reactions to the new features in the upgrade.

FINALLY – WE CAN CONVERT PROJECTS!!!

First, thanks to the hard work of Philip Hodgetts and Greg Clark, Intelligent Assistance has released a utility with Apple’s blessing that supports transferring projects from Final Cut Pro 7 to Final Cut Pro X called “7toX.”

As Philip told me: “We worked very hard to offer a very high fidelity conversion, so that editors can take their Final Cut Pro 7 projects forward to Final Cut Pro X’s efficient working environment.”

With 7toX for Final Cut Pro, the high fidelity translation moves Bins and Sequences from Final Cut Pro 7 to Final Cut Pro X with Keyword Collections representing Bins and Compound Clips converted from Sequences. All Bins and Sequences are recreated with no metadata or log notes from Final Cut Pro 7 being lost.

All Motion tab settings and keyframes are translated into their equivalent in Final Cut Pro X; more than 20 Transitions and 45 Filters are matched and applied, including matching Color Correction filters from Final Cut Pro 7 mapped to the Color Board; and full support for Multicam. read more...