Apple adds the integration of third-party applications to Final Cut Pro X

Final Cut Pro X, Apple's professional video editing software, now adds updates that will integrate third-party applications directly into the editing interface. Although third-party plug-ins and special effects are already available for the software, today's news opens Final Cut Pro X to third-party application developers to further streamline the editing workflow. "This is the first time that we allow third-party application integrations at this level that are so closely related to the FCPX engine," said an Apple spokesperson.

Apple calls these third-party integrations "workflow extensions", which correspond to the interface of Final Cut Pro X and allow editors to drag media files between libraries, add clip markers and synchronize playback between applications and the Final Cut timeline. The first integrated applications today are Frame.io, Shutterstock and CatDV, which can be downloaded for free from the Mac App Store. Apple says it is currently working on a few additional projects and will add new third-party extensions, such as the Simon Says transcription service, on an ongoing basis.

Image: Apple

Frame.io is a collaboration tool that one could describe as "Google Docs for Video Editing", in which multiple users can add notes to specific parts of a video. It is useful for projects requiring the examination of several people at once. It is therefore used by many studios and media companies, including Verge's video department. Other workflow extensions such as Shutterstock will allow browsing and buying archive footage from the program. CatDV will offer multimedia resource management.

Some features that Apple has added today have long been integrated into its competing products, such as Adobe Premiere. This includes the integration of the Frame.io interface and batch sharing, which allows users to export multiple clips at once. Other features are new and exclusive to Final Cut, such as full support for SRT encoded closed caption files. The words can be attached to the clips themselves, so that if a clip is rearranged, the subtitles are organized with it. Coupled with the upcoming integration of the transcription service, Apple facilitates the creation of accessible videos, which can also be easily shared on platforms such as Facebook and YouTube.

Other updates include a comparison viewer, which allows editors to view reference images in a new window to maintain a consistent look throughout the video while leveling. New color code names color codes in the floating time code window and improved noise reduction to minimize artifacts in low-light or archival sequences.

Image: Apple

Today's update also brings new features to Motion, the Final Cut Animation Companion app, and Compressor for video encoding. Motion incorporates color correction and dimming features, as well as new filters, and Compressor switches to a 64-bit engine for encoding high-resolution, high-frame-rate video. It will also support SRT-encoded captions.

The release of Final Cut Pro X in 2011 as a successor to Final Cut Pro 7 polarized most video editors at the time, as the project files were not compatible with each other and the completely redone design was missing. key features. Video professionals have been driven out and encouraged to switch to another software, such as Adobe Premiere, within its Creative Cloud suite, which even has its own competing applications, such as After Effects for animated graphics and Media Encoder for Video optimization. Since then, Apple has been working hard with regular updates to add these missing features via plug-ins and third-party tools, but the current addition of workflow extensions and third-party applications is a major effort on the part of the company to bring back those business users.

Final Cut Pro X is available on the Mac App Store for $ 299.99, while its associated applications, Motion and Compressor, cost $ 49.99 each. Updates are free for existing users.