Final Cut Pro X introduces third-party workflow extensions

The latest update to Final Cut Pro X, available today on the Mac App Store, introduces workflow extensions that enable professional video editors to use third-party apps and services directly within the editing interface.

Workflow extensions match the look of Final Cut Pro and integrate tightly into the app, allowing editors to drag media into Final Cut Pro libraries, sync playback between extensions and timeline, add clip markers and more. These extensions make it easy to use popular tools that enhance post-production including review and approval with Frame.io, stock footage browsing and purchasing with Shutterstock and media asset management with CatDV. Workflow extensions can be downloaded free from the Mac App Store starting today. Additional third-party extensions for Final Cut Pro will be available on an ongoing basis.

The new version of Final Cut Pro also includes a number of features that are highly requested from pro video editors. Batch sharing allows a user to export multiple clips or projects in one step and is especially useful when transcoding dailies on set for quick turnaround or delivering multiple versions of a project. A new Comparison Viewer window lets editors view reference images while colour grading to ensure a consistent look across their project.

A new floating timecode window makes it easy for video editors and others in the editing room to follow along by displaying colour-coded clip names, roles, project timecode and source timecode in a customisable, resizable display. High-quality video noise reduction minimises artefacts in low light or archival footage. Editors can now create and deliver closed captions in SRT format or choose to burn them into their video for compatibility with a wide range of video websites. And improved marquee selection makes it quick to select individual clips or the entire secondary storyline which saves valuable time for common edit operations.

Motion, the powerful motion graphics companion to Final Cut Pro, also gets an update today that adds a comprehensive set of colour grading tools including colour wheels, colour curves, hue/saturation curves and custom LUTs. These tools match the professional colour correction features found in Final Cut Pro and can now be used in Motion to fine-tune the look of titles and motion graphics. New filters in Motion include a customisable comic effect that instantly turns any image or video into colour or monochrome comic book illustration. And the new tiny planet filter lets motion graphics artists transform 360-degree video into beautiful spherical animations that can be keyframed to change over time.

Compressor, the advanced encoding companion to Final Cut Pro, moves to a new 64-bit engine that takes advantage of all the memory in a user’s Mac for improved performance when encoding high resolution, high frame rate video. Compressor maintains support for 32-bit codecs, so editors can continue to work with key legacy formats. And the app now supports SRT closed captions, which is an important format for delivering captioned video to the web and international markets.