Apple today announced that it is updating its video editing software Final Cut Pro X to version 10.4.9 with several new features designed to enhance remote workflows and speed up editing for social media content creators.
With more people working from home, Final Cut Pro X has received improvements to proxy workflows that make libraries more portable and streamline remote work with large, high-resolution files, according to Apple. Users can also now create proxies in either ProRes Proxy or H.264 in dimensions as small as 12.5 percent of the original.
New social media tools automate video cropping in square, vertical, and other custom sizes for popular social media platforms like Instagram, Snapchat, and Twitter. A new "Transform Overscan" feature reveals media outside the crop boundary when adjusting scale, rotation, and position, which allows storytellers to easily reposition the crop.
Final Cut Pro 10.4.9 will be available today as a free update for existing users, and remains $299.99 for new users on the Mac App Store.
Final Cut Pro's companion apps Motion and Compressor are also being updated today.
In the new version of Motion, Apple says creators can import third-party 3D models or choose from a built-in library of 3D models in the USDZ format for use in titles, generators, effects, and transitions. Motion is also receiving a new Stroke Filter, a tool that automatically outlines an object or text element using its alpha channel.
Compressor is gaining support for custom LUT effects, the ability to use Camera LUTs to convert log-encoded footage to SDR or HDR outputs, and other workflow enhancements.
Apple's free iMovie app for Mac also received a minor update today:
• Add a hand drawn look to your movies with 5 new filters: Comic, Comic Mono, Comic Vintage, Comic Sepia and Ink
• Import iMovie for iOS projects with support for Comic, Comic Mono and Ink filters
• Improves overall stability
Final Cut Pro 10.4.9 release notes:
Improved proxy workflows
• Generate proxy media in custom frame sizes of 1/8, 1/4, 1/2, or full resolution
• Choose to create proxy media in either ProRes Proxy or H.264
• Choose to display original or optimized media if proxy media is not available for some clips in your project
• Create a proxy-only copy of a library to reduce size for portability or performance
Social media tools
• Automatically transform projects for square or vertical delivery with Smart Conform
• Display media outside the Viewer boundary when adjusting scale, rotation, and position using Transform Overscan
• Add a Custom Overlay as an on-screen guide when placing text and graphics within a square or vertical frame
• Use the new Duplicate Project As command in combination with Smart Conform to quickly create a social media version of your existing project
Other new features
• Adjust ProRes RAW camera settings such as ISO, color temperature, and exposure offset using new controls in the inspector
• Crossfade audio on adjacent clips in one step using a menu command or keyboard shortcut
• Use Close Project command in a new drop-down menu above the timeline to clear project history
• Sort clips and projects by last modified date in list view
• Preview 360-degree stereoscopic 3D video in simultaneous left and right eye views with the 360° Viewer
• Easily stabilize 360-degree video with one-click tools in the inspector
