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Part1. What is Final Cut Pro? Part2. Final Cut Pro History
Part3. Famous Movies Edited by Final Cut Pro
Final Cut Pro is highly popular video editing software. It was initially developed by Macromedia Inc. and later it was developed by Apple Inc. The software is used to log and transfer videos to a hard drive (internal or external) for the purpose of editing, processing and creating outputs to a wide variety of formats.
Final cut Pro is non-linear software, and it is a fully rewritten and re-imagined non-linear editor. In 2011, Apple introduced Final Cut Pro X. Its latest version is Final Cut Pro X 10.1 that runs on Intel- based Mac OS powered by OS X version 10.9 or later.
Final Cut Pro has developed a strong user-base since the early 2000s. Its large and expanding user base consists mainly of video hobbyists and independent filmmakers. According to a 2007 SCRI study, In US Professional editing market, Final Cut Pro made up 49%.
Adobe Premiere was the first popular digital video editing application created by Randy Ubillos. Randy Ubillos created its first three versions and before Version 5 was released, Randy Ubillos' group was hired by Macromedia to create KeyGrip, a professional video-editing program based on Apple QuickTime.
Initially, Macromedia was not able to release KeyGrip due to some issues, and by 1998, it found a buyer for KeyGrip and then KeyGrip was renamed to Final Cut. At the National Association of Broadcasters exposition in 1998, It was shown in private room demonstrations as a 0.9 alpha after Macromedia was out of the main show. Both Mac and Windows versions were shown at demonstration. At that time, the Mac version was working with a Truevision RTX dual stream real time card that supported limited real time effects. There was no purchaser found and Apple purchased the team. When in turn Apple could not find a buyer, the development work was continued on the software focusing on adding FireWire support. In 1999, Apple introduced Final Cut Pro at National Association of Broadcasters (NAB).
Apple worked with DVcreators.net to facilitate that Final Cut Pro support third-party self-paced and instructor-led training from the beginning. DVcreators.net released a training disc called "Final Cut Pro PowerStart" at NAB at the release of Final Cut Pro.
Apple hosted hundreds of free and paid Final Cut Pro workshops and seminars in 60 cities in the U.S., Canada and many other countries over the following years while working with DVcreators.net. This helped with Final Cut Pro's early awareness creation in the marketplace and rise in the market share.
Adobe Premiere's maintained a strong hold on market share with Windows even after the introduction of Final Cut Pro. Adobe Premiere's share began to decline on the Mac as it was difficult to maintain its older codebase.
In 2003, Apple announced a program where Premiere users were invited to trade their discs for Final Cut Express free copy or a $500 discount on Final Cut Pro. This benefited Final Cut Pro from the relative maturity of QuickTime and also for its native support for DV cameras connected with FireWire (IEEE1394).
In April 2003 Final Cut Pro 4 was announced including three new applications: Compressor that was used to facilitate the transcoding between video formats); Soundtrack, for royalty-free music soundtrack creation, LiveType for advanced titling (like creation of animated lower thirds). It was also bundled with Cinema Tools, which were previously sold separately for filmmakers working with telecine.
Along with this, in 2003, Apple launched Final Cut Express. This was a less expensive version of Final Cut Pro. It uses the same interface like Final Cut Pro, but it lacks some film-specific tools and some other advanced options, limiting the features for non-professional editors.
In Jan 2005, Soundtrack and LiveType were added to Express, these were previously only available with Final Cut Pro. And the features were added to edit HDV. With Final Cut Express 4, soundtrack was subsequently removed.
In June 2011, Final Cut Express was officially discontinued.
In April 2004, Apple introduced Final Cut Pro version 4.5 branded it as "Final Cut Pro HD." It was re-branded for native support on Panasonic's tape-based DVCPRO HD format used for compressed 720p and 1080i HD over FireWire.
Final Cut Pro 5: Apple announced Final Cut Pro 5 at a pre-NAB event in April, and shipped it in May 2005. In the new Final Cut Pro 5, Apple added support for the burgeoning HDV format with compressed HD. This was previously supported in Final Cut Pro's lower version, Final Cut Express and Apple also allowed support for Panasonic P2 format for recording of DVCPRO HD video to memory cards instead of tape.
In Jan 2006, Final Cut Pro was stopped to sell as a stand-alone product by Apple. In March 2006, Final cut studio released the Universal Binary 5.1 version. The users achieved upgrades by sending the original installation discs to Apple with a fee. The major noticeable difference was the Intel versions of Final Cut, and Motion was no longer able to recognize After Effects plug-ins. For this Apple released its own universal plug-in architecture FxPlug.
April 15, 2007, Apple showcased Final Cut Pro 6.0 as a part of Final Cut Studio 2 bundle. On July 23, 2009, Final Cut Pro 7 was released, but again it was not a 64-bit application.
April 12, 2011, Final Cut Pro X was announced. It was released on June 21.This time, it was 64-bit application completely rebuilt with a new interface including workflow enhancements and automation. New features such as resolution-independent playback system, ColorSync integration, system scaling with Core Animation, etc. were added. Final Cut Studio apps including Color, Soundtrack Pro, and DVD Studio Pro were dropped this time. Motion 5 and Compressor 4 were released in the Mac App Store.
In the initial phase, FCPX received mixed reviews like many other video editors. Final Cut Pro long-time users showed dissatisfaction out of the product and undeserving to be part of Final Cut Pro product line. An online petition was raised to demand either the continued development of the Final Cut Pro product or its sale to a third party by Jan 1, 2012. Apple banned the initiator from the discussion forum. As of January 2014 reports, the petition received over 9,000 signatures showcasing the popularity of the Final Cut Pro X.
| Final Cut Express (FCE) | Final Cut Pro 7 (FCP 7) | Final Cut Pro X (FCP X) | |
| Description |
Final Cut Express was a less expensive version of Final Cut Pro.
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Final Cut Pro 7 offers a complete set of professional editing and trimming tools that makes editing fund and let the work done quickly. It offers a full range of customization options to give the users desired flexibility and control.
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Final Cut Pro X is a 64-bit application completely rebuilt with a user friendly interface including workflow enhancements and automation. It is a one solution to all editing requirements.
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| Basis |
It uses the same interface like Final Cut Pro. In Jan 2005, Soundtrack and LiveType were added to Express, these were previously only available with Final Cut Pro. And the features were added to edit HDV. With Final Cut Express 4, soundtrack was subsequently removed.
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Final Cut Pro 7 was not a 64-bit application when released.
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Final Cut Pro X was released as a complete 64-bit application completely rebuilt with a new interface including workflow enhancements and automation. New features such as resolution-independent playback system, ColorSync integration, system scaling with Core Animation, etc. were added.
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| Launch Date |
Apple launched Final Cut Express in 2003.
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On July 23, 2009, Final Cut Pro 7 was released
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April 12, 2011, Final Cut Pro X was announced. It was released on June 21
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| Discontinuation |
In June 2011, Final Cut Express was officially discontinued.
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Final Cut Pro 7 was discontinued use after the launch of Final Cut Pro X in 2011
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Latest Version of Final Cut Pro X is 10.1.3
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| Requirements |
In Final Cut Express, it was mandatory to specify if you're importing an individual file or a folder to it.
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Like Final cut express, in Final Cut Pro 7, it require you to specify whether you are importing an individual file or a folder in Final Cut Pro 7.
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In Final Cut Pro X, You can import files directly by dragging them from the Finder into an event in the Libraries list.
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| Advanced Options |
It lacks some film-specific tools and some other advanced options, limiting the features for non-professional editors.
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In Final Cut Pro7, users are allowed to set a location for render files, audio waveforms and thumbnails.
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In Final Cut Pro X, all items are stored in the library file which simplifies media management and eliminates the possibility of files getting lost or disconnected.
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| Undo |
In Final Cut Express, you can hit undo up to 32 times.
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In FCP 7, you can hit undo up to 99 times.
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In FCP X, you can hit undo 99 times.
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| AVCHD Support |
No native support for AVCHD and transcoding facility is limited to files from attached cameras only in Final Cut Express.
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Final Cut Pro 7 AVCHD support is available only on Intel-based Mac computers.
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Final Cut Pro X supports native editing of AVCHD.
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| Supported Formats |
Final Cut Express often works with DV, HDV, MOV, MPEG-4 formats files.
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FCP 7 supports a large number of digital video formats as it is based on QuickTime technology. FCP 7 can be used to import the following format types: AVI, DV Stream, MPEG-2, MPEG-4 and QuickTime movie.
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Final Cut Pro X supports almost all formats.
Video: Apple Animation codec, Apple ProRes, AVC-Intra, Apple Intermediate codec, AVCHD, DV, DVCPRO HD, H.264, iFrame, Motion JPEG,HDV MPEG IMX, REDCODE RAW, XAVC, XDCAM HD/EX/HD422,QuickTime formats. Audio: AAC, AIFF, BWF, CAF, MP3, MP4, WAV |
Final Cut Pro has been used for editing movies from past 14 years. The first Worldwide Distributed TV show produced with Final Cut Pro was 2000's WOW- Women of Wrestling. It was produced in a fully Broadcast quality using the uncompressed video card by Pinnacle CinéWave. In late 1999, the Oxygen Network was a beta site for Final Cut Pro. In late 2001, the studio motion picture "The Rules of Attraction" was edited on beta versions of Final Cut Pro 3.
Roger Avary, the director of the film, became the leading spokesperson for Final Cut Pro, which appeared in the majority of print advertisements worldwide. With his advocacy, the product got huge acceptance. It gave confidence that the product was ready for "prime time" to mainstream editors such as Walter Murch. The application created such an impact that in August 2002,"Primetime Emmy Engineering Award" was won by the application for its great impact and contribution to the television industry.
Cold Mountain is based on a novel by Charles Frazier, and it is an epic Civil War drama. Starring Nicole Kidman, Jude Law, and Renee Zellweger, the movie performed exceptionally well on box office and was critically acclaimed. Cold Mountain was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Editing by the editor Walter Murch.
In Hollywood, Cold Mountain was taken as a way through movie for the use of Final Cut Pro. The complete book has been published on the way editor Murch used Final Cut Pro to edit the movie. The analysis and its impact on future cinema productions be shared in the book. Editor Murch acclaimed that the use of Final Cut Pro on this movie affected the ultimate creative outcome. The DVD authoring capabilities of Final Cut Pro were used by the editing team, and it made them able to see the material more often, share it with more people, and change the way they looked at certain scenes. Hollywood movies require high range of editing tools and the range of effects that can be achieved using Final Cut Pro are of the highest order and impressive. The standard ripple, scrub, roll, slip, slide, razor blade and time remapping edit functions are very effective with Final Cut Pro.
Final Cut Pro comes with a range of video transitions and a great range of video and audio filters that take the film projects to the next highest level.
No Country for Old Men was a thriller from Coen brothers. The movie production was written, directed and edited by Coen Brothers. No Country For Old Men's editor Roderick Jaynes was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Editing in the movie.
Final Cut Pro's easy to use interface helped the editors with creating the movie's narrative using the timeline features of the product. This movie marked a chance with approach of Coen brothers, who took advantage of a better resolution DVCPRO HD for their cutting process in the movie compared to earlier films that were cut at DV resolution.
Burn after Reading is a comedy from the talented brothers Joel and Ethan Coen. The movie was written, produced, edited, and directed by Joel and Ethan Coen.
Final Cut Pro was used by Joel brothers due to its extremely simple and easy to use interface. They block together the rough cuts in the movies as the scenes were being shot. Final Cut Pro gave them the much-needed flexibility to edit quickly.
Majority of the action in the movie was shot using Sony cameras, but RED camera was added in several scenes when an additional camera was needed. There is a significantly different workflow between Red and Sony cameras; even then the RED material was able to be integrated smoothly and easily with the Sony footage.
500 Days to summer was a romantic comedy movie starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Zooey Deschanel.
The movie was edited by Alan Edward Bell with Final Cut Pro in DVCPro HD format. Final Cut Pro. The story of the movie unfolds in a non-linear structure, and the workflow feature of Final Cut Pro made it easy to manage the sequencing of scenes in a better way.
The girl with dragon tattoo: Based on the novel by Stieg Larsson, this movie was US adaptation of the Swedish film with the same name; the story is a crime thriller starring Daniel Craig and Rooney Mara. The story unfolds trying to uncover the secrets of disappearance linked with a young girl from a wealthy family.
The movie consists of the bundle of invisible effects throughout the film, and this was one of the major challenges with this movie. Final Cut Pro was used for everything from matte painting to creation of seasonal elements such as snow. Final Cut Pro was used in the movie to achieve the right shot stabilization and for the purpose of visual enhancements.
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