All you need to know about Final Cut Pro 10.4.9 – improvements in many areas
Today Apple released an update to their professional video editing software.
The current Apple policy is to have no roadmap for future plans or ongoing public promotion of Final Cut Pro. This means what features are prioritised in updates give us hints on how they think about Final Cut and who they think it is for.
There are improvements for…
- Workflow supervisors and editors on teams: big improvements to proxy workflows and library management so that multi-terabyte media libraries can be shared over low-bandwidth connections as low-gigabyte ‘proxy’ copies
- Final Cut template designers: titles, effects, generators and transitions can now use complex 3D models
- Online editors and colour graders: new ProRes RAW settings in the inspector
- Day to day editors: a command and keyboard shortcut to create audio-only edits
- Integrated media companies and social media producers: new square and vertical aspect ratios, a way to automatically make a new timeline with a new aspect ratio from a current timeline and new vertical and square aspect ratio aware titles
- Motion users: import and animation of USDZ 3D models – which can include animation plus a new Stroke filter
- Compressor users: the ability to batch apply camera LUTs to source footage, for custom batch processing of proxy media. New IMF (Interoperable Mastering Format) ProRes package export for sending masters of films and TV shows to distributors and film festivals
Apple is telling us with this release that they want to please almost every kind of Final Cut user you might imagine. From feature film editors and post supervisors up to those starting out in multiple channels of social media.
This isn’t the ‘everything I want’ update to 10.5 (or even 11) that some have been hoping for since the last big update in Autumn 2018. The good news is the majority of the new features will change many Final Cut user’s lives for the better.
I’ll update this page with new information as I find it.
Apple Final Cut release notes (not yet updated for 10.4.9).
Motion release notes.
Compressor release notes.
Online documentation: Final Cut, Motion, Compressor (not yet updated)
All three applications work with macOS Mojave (10.14.6) and newer.
There is a 20 minute video from Felipe Baez on the workflow improvements in Final Cut:
Another is a 40 minute video from Ripple Training, who make training courses for Final Cut Pro, Motion, Compressor and DaVinci Resolve:
Ripple also make plugins for Final Cut Pro.
Here is their video on new features in Motion 5.4.6:
As do I! (many of them free).
Third party ecosystem updates
Frame.io have updated their workflow extension:
We’ve updated our #FinalCutPro X Workflow Extension. Drag clips from the https://t.co/maIBcRSC2a extension directly into Final Cut, and Final Cut will download them in the background. #fcpx pic.twitter.com/fnfs0sVF3S
— Frame.io (@Frame_io) August 25, 2020
Before you apply the updates
The 10.4.9 update changes the format of Final Cut libraries, so best back up all libraries made with 10.4.8 and also compress (using the Archive command in the Finder) and back up the Final Cut 10.4.8, Motion 5.4.5 and Compressor 4.4.6 too. Apple’s support document on this.
When you are ready, use the ‘App Store…’ command in the Apple menu to see if the updates are available.
To buy Final Cut Pro for the first time, visit the Mac App Store.