Gizmodo
If you're interested in high-end video production, you'll want to take a look at Apple's Final Cut Studio 2. It's chock full o' apps, included a smooth new update to Final Cut Pro, now in version 6, Its main coolness is its ability to crunch HDTV video down to manageable sizes, made possible by ProRes 422, a codec for compressing video that Apple claims to be able to do the video equivalent of stuffing a basketball through a garden hose.
We watched a lengthy demo of the new software, and found it to be a remarkable polyglot, able to handle all kinds of footage all in one big bucket, something that's really important to broadcasters and filmmakers these days. When there are dozens of varieties of HDTV and regular TV to deal with, this is not a new feature, but welcome by Final Cut users.
Check out a few of our pics in the gallery below, and read more about Final Cut Studio 2 on the next page.
At the same time, Apple showed up Motion 3, a special effects application that can stack up more layers of video than you can shake a stick at. A competitor to Adobe's After Effects, we noticed a lot of the same features aboard this third iteration of Motion, but the thing just looks dope-easy to use, and has tons of canned effects on board. Leave it to Apple to make the complicated task of video compositing a bit easier.
The there was a neat demo of the next version of Soundtrack Pro, now version 2, which brings some cool editing features to the Apple mid-range sound editor. More intriguing was the 3D representation of a sound wave, and the ability to precisely cut out a particular noise without losing the other sounds around it. Sure, we've seen a feature almost exactly like this in Adobe's Audition sound editing app, but now it was Apple's turn to catch up.
Then there was Compressor, an expanded compression tool with a simplified interface and more power than before. We were impressed with its batch processing capabilities and added support for one of our fave codecs, H.264. It also encodes video for iPods and Apple TV as well as pro formats, and takes advantage of that new mofo Octomac that heard only one or two mentions in the presentation. But it does cut processing time, crunching video 2.8 times faster on an eight-way processor than was ever possible before.
Next was Color, a color correcting software tool that looks a lot like $100K software/hardware systems we've seen over the years. Color correction is what made films such as O Brother Where Art Thou? look so warm and old, yet beautiful. Color correction is a big part of TV and movie production these days, and to really get in there and fix weird colors that weren't shot properly, as well as warm up scenes and add style, up until recently you needed a seriously expensive system, meaning it would cost you scores of thousands of bucks. But the hall-full of TV production wonks was gasping when Apple flacks told us all this power would be included in Final Cut Studio 2.
Pricing was reasonable for all theses apps you get, too. The full price of the whole suite will be $1299, available next month. To upgrade from Final Cut Studio 1 will be $499, and an upgrade from any version of Final Cut Pro since its beginning (1999) is $699. Not a bad deal, not bad at all.
Comments
Awesome price for the upgrade. Looking forward to playing around with 3D in the new motion.
system requirements:
"An AGP or PCI Express Quartz Extreme graphics card (Final Cut Studio is not compatible with integrated Intel graphics processors)"
not compatible with integrated intel graphics, what the hell?? this just washed all macbook editing right down the shitter.
as a poor film student, i was going to get macbook (price, size, durability) over a mbp this summer, but this sucks. i guess i save more for a mbp or hope that somehow that compatibility changes with the gma x3000 which better f'ing come with the new mb refresh.
Compressor has always done H.264. thats all i have ever used it for really. they did finally add MP3 exporting... after years lacking it and expecting everyone to just use AAC. so that's nice
And they didn't even have time to show us DVD Studio 3, which gives you a great way to make sophisticated DVDs.
Actually, DVD Studio Pro was not updated. It has remained at version 4 for this release.
Also, don't forget the most important aspect of the the Motion update - it now does real 3D, a lack that kept it from being a viable After Effects replacement until now.
I'm bummed about no integrated graphics support though. Hopefully that will be bypass-able.
Actually DVD Studio is on version 4 already, and there was no upgrade. We are currently on version 4.2.
morph3us - if you can afford Final Cut Studio, I think you should consider spending the extra $800 for a MBP. An iMac will also work for you...
portability is a must, therefore an iMac = no dice. even if $ wasn't an issue, i would like to go mb, just b/c i do a lot of writing in coffee shops/all over the place and 15" is a bit large (that's what she said..sorry). as far as "affording" goes, let's just say there's a "discount" that i plan on getting. poor film student that's using it for school/independent projects and not making any money off it = no guilty feelings.
poor film student who plans to pirate their software = no guilty feelings from Apple for leaving your preferred hardware out of the loop.
If you're into some great quality video podcasts, you can't beat Tiki Bar Tv.... if you aren't already.
THe video quality and editing is pretty amazing. Comes in wide-screen from iTunes also.
Am just hanging out for the next episode...
Avid still makes a better production product. I really don't like Final Cut. Avid's products are the same price or less than Final Cut and offer more features and capabilities.
bah humbug. hd isight please... dope easy eh? lets try it with dope and see what happens when we sober up. could be interesting
Is an Avid system really cheaper when you consider everything you get with this new suite?
Odd. These "new" features are pretty much standard fare for Sony Vegas 7 and its ilk from the former Sonic Foundry. Nice to see Apple finally catching up.
I like the empasis on AppleTV and iPod. Yeah, shoot and post in HD then compress down to nodef.
sure, all these additions to FCP 6 are great, but Avid has had an open timeline and the DNxHD codecs (the equivalent of ProRes422) for years.
I'm psyched for Color. I can't stand the current color correction tools in FCP; I much prefer avid in that regard. It looks like I'll be getting a new Mac Pro and the final cut studio upgrade next month, though. Should be exciting!
They had no reason mention DVD Studio Pro 3 because a) Version 4 has been out for a year or so and b) it wasn't upgraded in this release.
Whilst the "Avid and Vegas (mmmmm - widely used by pros) have had these features for years" comments are to be expected, they ignore the way that FCP has destroyed price barriers in the industry, Color being only the latest example. Minor feature catch-up is a small price to pay.
Well I'm a little upset. I'm totally stoked about all the new features, but I'm currently using Final Cut Studio 1 on my MacBook. While I can probably spring for FCS2 I don't think I can afford a MBP as-well. Yes, running the suite on integrated graphics is a pain (as for motion, don't even go there!), but my MacBook is still capable of running Final Cut Pro without too much bother. Apple are half accepting that the MacBook isn't as powerful as it should be, and half bullying users into buying the MBP. What next? Make the MacBook core-solo?!
Smashng the price barriers? Maybe on the software, but I expect that they'll make it back on all of those 8-way Mac Pros with dual-thirty-inch screens, 8GB of RAM, and a TB or so of HD.
I just hope they release the ProRes codec for Windows as well. I've been working on a DVCProHD project over the last year and can't play back any of the media on my PC. Damn Quicktime's pseudo-multiplatform-ness!
It sounds as if many people are expecting the MacBook to be something it is not: A pro-level laptop. For only $500 more than the BlackBook, you get a faster processor, a faster SuperDrive, and the seperate Video Card.
Why should an integrated video card be expected to handle complex tasks like Motion requires? It is patently ridiculous that you even expect it!
Macbook = consumer level notebook
MacBook Pro = Professional level notebook
Average consumers won't use FCP. Professional users will. Jenny College Student doesn't need an independent graphics card on her cute little white Macbook, she just wants it to play her music, write her mid-term reports, and let her check MySpace.
Macbook Pro's definitely worth the little uppage in price. And at 15" widescreen, it really isn't that huge. Mine's plenty portable.
"Apple are half accepting that the MacBook isn't as powerful as it should be..."
They could proably drop one of the new Intel mobile quad-core chips into it too... but I don't think you're going to be anywhere near that $1000 price point.
The MB is Apple's version of an affordable notebook. If you want more features/power/bigger screen/whatever, it's going to cost more.
Final Cut Studio 2 and a non-Pro MacBook, huh? You my friend are crazy!
I agree that there are a lot of really cool new features in this release (especially a real Color Corrector), but seriously - $500 for an upgrade on a $1,300 piece of software? That's pretty damned steep IMO.
The $700 price to go from pre-Studio versions seems palatable, since you didn't buy all those extra programs (Motion etc.) yet. But I'm sorry, spending nearly 40% of the original purchase price for an upgrade is harsh.
Oh, and Vegas?! No self respecting editor willingly chooses Vegas as their editing platform of choice. Maybe a few production companies that work in a vacuum do, but the big boys use Avid and FCP.
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To those complaining about the price. Do you realize that the new Color apps was bought by Apple and repackaged Apple style. The original cost for the full 2k capable version was $25,000. Now it's included in a $1,200 package, and if you already had FC Studio 1, it's $499. $499 for something last year you'd have dropped 25k for. Quit yer complainin'
@middlelurch:
how condescending. i can assure you i'm no "Jenny College Student". i can also assure you that it's not the professional users that are going to want final cut. avid is still the standard in the business, and while apple is finally making headway in the editing world, it's still not even close to taking the lead in terms of usage. that leaves final cut in the prosumer range, right where my macbook lies in relation to both the apple line of notebooks and those of other competitors. sure, you're not going to be able to run motion without the gfx card, but final cut pro 5 runs perfectly well on my macbook. the processor can hack it, and there's plenty of ram in here. besides, the notebooks are for on-the-go assembly of footage, not the hardcore final cut, so to speak. any serious editor is going to be doing it on a full desktop machine with all the hardware to go along with it.
my point is, you both overestimate the target market of final cut, and underestimate the value of the macbook.
i couldn't agree more with mediaphile. the point about apple is that they've attempted, over many years, to position themselves in a very particular corner of the market - and digital arts is right in the middle of that strategy. speaking as a digital video artist, it's been obvious to me that final cut pro was being marketed essentially at people like me - neither the industry user who will spend far more on a system that gives them far greater parity than i require, nor the domestic user editing holiday footage onto a DVD. it's simply idiotic to get snotty about the 'college girls' with their 'cute macbooks'. what new level of nerdy insecurity is this? my main complaint is that having bought a machine to replace my ageing G4 powerbook - which was quite happy to run final cut all day long - i now find that my 'cute white macbook' can't do what my old machine could - run the latest version of the software to my satisfaction. I'm not making pisspoor pop promos, i'm someone whose career involves a serious investment (i don't mean the financial kind) in digital technologies. how annoying that apple overcomplexify their market once again and leave me stranded!
macbook just consumer level laptop...
thats the biggest bullsh i've ever heard
how come that, i could use either shake, c4d, maya, adobe after effects, adobe premiere whatsoever on my macbook if i want to
and only apple FORCES me to upgrade my laptop (buy another one) if i want to use their software?
guys, dont say that a 2ghz dual core processor, what renders way faster than my last dual processor desktop pc, is considered to be consumer level?? its consumer level because apple says it is! (and some of you believe it is)
sorry guys, im just pissed off, i've been waiting for this software so long and im closed out for no reason. this computer SHOULD be capable to run this software, as it is capable to run a lot more (similar or same or even more complex) stuff.
this is typical apple behaviour and i think they should get stuffed. its a ripoff, i better invest in the adobe package, they dont force me to buy a computer i dont want.
and all you apple fans out there: i've been running a full, working editing suite on a 1.4ghz amd laptop years ago. it was running fine. im always laughing on people trying to convince other people that their latest computer is _slow_ just because something better is also on the market. the macbook is an expensive piece of hardware, way more expensive than its competitors, not to talk about the pro. i excpect stuff to work, thats why i changed to apple. im really disappointed.
I think we need to put FCP in perspective.A few folks have used it to cut films like "Cold Mountain","Zodiac" etc.It's a pro app and it needs a pro machine.I suppose no company can ever satisfy the demands of the general consuming public.I think Apple has made a huge effort in bringing "final touch" aka color, an app that needed a quadra card to a reasonable level(in terms of price and hardware).The introduction of FC has made other companies reprice their products(e.g Adobe) so it can't overly be such a bad thing.I think that if we think something does "The job" for the artist,film maker etc we get it use it to do what we do best...Their is always Final cut express HD.
can apple final cut run on windows, the latest versions and which software has the best effects and transition effects. plz tell me
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