Today Apple has announced a new version of its flagship NLE, Final Cut Pro 10.4.9. This version includes some interesting features but mostly focuses on the enhancing workflow regarding 8K, which means better options to generate proxies, improved R3D transcoding, and support for the new Canon EOS R5. Read on.

Optimization for ultra-high-resolution editing

The new version of Final Cut Pro (10.4.9) is designed to meet the needs for ultra-high-resolution workflow, especially in a cloud-based environment. As stated by Apple” “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. 

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.

Apple

Enhanced proxy workflow

Editing with proxies was very popular several years ago to avoid the workflow bottleneck caused by heavily compressed RAW files and codecs. However, with the improvement of the processing power of CPUs and especially GPUs, editors have started to edit natively. Nevertheless, due to COVID and social distancing regulation, those heavy files were a real pain when working remotely via cloud services. Thus, the need to generate proxies turned out to be even more important. That’s the main reason for Apple to develop enhanced proxy workflow implemented on FCPX 10.4.9. This feature allows the privilege of generating proxies in either ProRes Proxy or H.264 in dimensions as small as 12.5 percent of the original (as claimed by Apple). Furthermore, there is an option of consolidation proxy media, images, and audio to an external or network-connected drive, and link them to a cloud-based media services.

Facilitation of the creation of media dedicated to social networks

Following Premiere Pro, the new Final Cut version supports special features that are relevant to social media. For instance, 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 a square, vertical, or any other sized video, to be used on social media, mainly Instagram.

Faster 8K R3D transcode and Canon EOS R5 support

FCPX 10.4.9  also introduces significant performance improvements with new Metal-enabled plug-ins for RED RAW and Canon Cinema RAW Light. According to Apple, the transcoding process of 8K R3Ds to ProRes 422 is up to two times faster on Mac Pro, and up to three times faster on MacBook Pro. Furthermore, for the first time, Final Cut Pro editors can play and edit 8K Canon Cinema RAW Light, which means this new version is EOS-R5 ready!

The transcoding process of 8K R3Ds to ProRes 422 is up to two times faster on Mac Pro, and up to three times faster on MacBook Pro. Furthermore, for the first time, Final Cut Pro editors can play and edit 8K Canon Cinema RAW Light.

Apple

Initial thoughts

The 10.4.9 is the final version before we see a brand new Final Cut Pro (10.5). This version is dedicated to improving the remote workflow in a professional editing environment where high-resolution post-production processes are needed. The facilitation of proxy generation, together with the enhanced Metal engine, indicates that this version was created to allow cloud-based workflow without taking editors’ foot off the gas. They should be calling it the FCPX COVID version:-)