Final Cut Pro App Reviews

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Imports are having audio issues

Any new imports I’m having with the current version are having popping in the audio. If I use any other video player or editor like iMovie the file has no problem. Apple please fix this ASAP.

With changes come some problems...

Version 10.3 doesn’t let me flip, crop or distort images from the button at the bottom left of the viewer. Also the viewer doesn’t fit the dedicated space…I have to work with a 50% view of my clip and it’s very annoying. Hope Apple fix this issues ASAP!

Powerful editing

Final Cut Pro X is an extreemly powerful editor. At the same time, the UI is so highly visually oriented that I easily focus on the video itself. It’s magnetic timeline approach is very efficient. If you are coming from a track based NLE, be prepared to give yoursefl time to learn how to use FCPX; it will be well worth it. FCPX incluees a number of very useful effects for color correction, VFX, titles, transitions and the like. It’s stabilizer is the best I have encountered. In addition, the third party plugin community is very extensive and helpful. If there is an effect, title or transition you’d like that is not included, you probably have a large number of options. I’m a big fan of FCPX. Like all software, it has some UI elements or features I would change - but none the less, it is one of the most (if not THE most) well thought out and effective software applications I have encounted in my 30 years. My videos a much better because of it.

Sorry, I had to leave 1 star

I AM HAVING THE SAME ISSUE AS MANY MANY PEOPLE. HOLY HECK, I’M PEEVED BECAUSE FCPX WASNT EXPORTING OUT ANY CONTENT. SO I TRASHED THE PREFERENCES USING THE PREFERENCE MANAGER LIKE I’VE DONE MILLIONS OF TIMES AND NOW IT WON’T EVEN OPEN A LIBRARY. WE HAVE 5 FCPX EDITING MACHINES AT MY COMPANY. ONLY 2 MACHINES UPDATED AUTOMATICALLY THANK GOODNESS, BUT IT SO HAPPENED TO UPDATE THE MOST CRUCIAL LIVE LIBRARY THAT WE WERE EDITING. NOW IT WON’T EVEN OPEN. IS THIS A PROBLEM WITH SOME OF THE PLUGINS ASSOCIATED WITH THAT PROJECT AND OUR FCPX MACHINES? CAUSE WE TRIED TAKING THE DRIVE AND LIBRARY TO ANOTHER MACHINE, UPDATED TO THE NEW FCPX AND BOOOOOOM. NOTHING WORKS ON THAT MACHINE EITHER. A LITTLE PLUGIN GLITCH SHOULDN’T DO THIS, SO ME AND MY TEAM ARE FORCED TO BELIEVE THAT THIS NEW SOFTWARE WAS RELEASED WITH THE INTENT OF BRICKING OUR EDITING WORKKLOWS. HA. APPLE. ENGINEERS. PLEASE. DO. SOMETHING. If it helps, these are the only plugins we use: FxFactoryLoader.fxplug motionVFXmFlare_Motion4.fxplug motionVFXmFlare.fxplug WE THE PEOPLE HAVE SPOKEN AND WE NEED SOME HELP. IT’S BEEN OVER A WEEK SINCE WE FIRST DISCOVERED THE ISSUE AND TRIED EVERYTHING IN THE BOOK WE KNOW TO RESET, RESTART, SEARCH ON GOOGLE. NOTHING HELPS. WE NEED TO CALL IN SOME BIG GUNS. HOPE SOMEONE IS LISTENING.

Roles need function during exportation.

Roles is highly under-utilized during exportation. In my example, I send the audio to Logic via XML and then send the bounce/mastered track back into Final Cut. I use the Roles feature to remove all original audio. When I send it to compressor for batch-work or even through simple exportation with in Final Cut, the original audio is still included. Ignoring my deselection of audio roles. It would be most helpful/smart/functional to have the Role selection be carried through the exportation process, such as Compressor or the basic in-app export option. It just makes sense! Oh, and how about assigning master audio controls for each audio-role… just throwing that out there.

No sound in exported files

Having been a little frustrated by the limitations of iMovie, I just purchased Final Cut Pro X. After sitting down with some basic tutorials to learn the ropes, I have made a shocking discovery. No project I export from FCPX has sound in the output file. Googling around shows me that I’m not the only one with this problem. No amount of tweaking destination settings helps. No solutions suggested on discussion boards have helped. Trashing Preferences, reinstalling FCPX, rebooting my machines — nothing has helped. How on earth could it be so hard to export a video from an expensive video editor that has sound? If I could give zero stars, I would.

It’s good, but I’m not too fond of the design change.

It used to look like buttons on the old version, but now with the huge design change it looks like it’s just the background, and I understand how it looks much sleeker but in my opinion it’s a little bit more annoying that I can’t see if things are buttons or just the background. I also dont understand why they put the music and text options on the top of it. It’s a little more confusing now that the effects are in two different places now. Also, I do not like that when you key things they do not light up anymore. This is a big deal for me because I use keying A LOT and the fact that I could barely see the difference from keyyed or unkeyyed is bad because I wouldn’t look at it that closely to see a little tiny “x” on top of it. I would end up unkeyying keyyed things and keyying unkeyed things. Overall, it’s an amazing program, but the design change in the new update poses a lot of problems for me.

Really Disapointed

I am in the middle of several projects and now trying to learn where everything is including just adding text to a video. I figured this was just a normal update, but it wasn’t . It’s a complete redesign and I don’t have time to learn when I have projects for clients due. It’s embarrassing to ask for more time…and time I can’t charge for. It’s unfortunate that I am being forced to move to Adobe Premiere now. This might be the end of the Apple hardware for me and thinking about selling the 11K Pro now and just going with the PC if I have to use Adobe anyway. Why keep Apple now? For Hecks sakes… PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE have a Roll back feature on APPS so at least I can ease myself into this when I have time to do so.

What are you waiting for?

Been using X for about 3 years. Hands down it’s the NLE of the now, from the future. Today’s digital landscape is fast paced and everything needs to be done and delivered yesterday. This is the app you need to be fast, efficient and successful. Yes, I just said that. Do I get fustrated with it? Sometimes. Do I wish it had more features? Yep. Still, FCPX runs circles around the other NLEs. If I was given free reign to have my own post facility with multiple editors, I would still pick X. I know, I sound like a horrible fan boy, but it’s true. It’s faster, WAY MORE stable and just gets out of the way so I can be me - create and and do my work. Period. Don’t take my word, I’m just some random dude giving this outlandish review. To all the “Pro’s” out there saying Apple has givn up on us, this update proves they deeply care and are watching, always watching…wait, thats not what…whatevs, they do care about us a lot.

It just keeps getting better!

I was one of the people when final cut changed from 7 to X - I was shocked and so bummed! Today I have to eat my words because Apple has continually made this product better and better. Release 10.3 is incredible and has totally converted me from using the other editing apps and I have used them all believe me, starting with edit droid, radius edit, avid, media 100, and premiere. The new audio features are beyond anything you would typically see in an editing app. This new functionaly dramatically simplifies the process of complicated multitrack audio edits. So many editors these days are expected to do everything as a one man band with the audio always becomes the messy stepchild of video. Final Cut 10.3 has addresssed these issues and made editing audio a breeze. I have an old 2011 imac that is ancient but FCPX running on Sierra is lightening fast. I can’t imagine how fast the cutting is on the newer imacs with retina displays. The new interface design is clean and highly fucntional. The ability to create custom workspaces is a dream for maximizing the layout for utimate efficiency. If you have never given Final Cut X a try or got weirded out by the foreigness of the new paradigm, I beg you to give it another chance. I have given so many editor friends of mine this challenge and converted just as many. When you surrender to its power and allow yourself to work in its forward thinking framework, you will be amazed what speed and functionality it can bring to your edits. Keep up the great work Apple I look forward to what you will reveal next!

Simply the best NLE

I’ve been editing with FCPX professionally pretty much since it was first released. Before that, I was editing with the old Final Cut Pro professionally for about 10 years. I welcomed the change in workflow and interface from the classic FCP to the new FCPX, because I was totally burnt out editing with the old Final Cut Pro. FCPX made editing fun again. Once you get past the learning curve, you start to see why Apple made the changes they did to the software. I probably edit 3 or 4 times faster than before. Not to mention the render and export times are significantly faster…even faster than PP(Youtube it). When FCPX was first released, it wasn’t ready for the professional world, but they kept tweaking it, and now after several updates it is amazing, and is totally capable of any production. Great job FCPX team! I can’t thank you enough.

Will NOT let me update

Everytime that I click on UPDATE, I get a spinning wheel up by my back and forwards buttons. Nothing else. Can anyone help me? Other than that, the current version that I am using is incredible! It makes editing my movies much more efficient and it’s really easy to use.

It is a smooth upgrade, but allow more customization of UI placement

I am a user who uses Final Cut Pro X extensively with two/three screens. I remember that Final Cut Verson 10.2 had very useful UI that made everything convienient by placing all the effect options at the center of the main editor window so that all other features are kept clean such as the viewer. With 10.3, I am impressed that it kept a good deal of things faithful and stable for my video editong projects. However, I am having a tough time finding generators, effects, titles, and transitions being in one place. Also, the editing tools that are at the viewer should at least be allowed back at the main editing window so that the viewer can remain free of other things exept for view size. I wished it had more customized UI placement of editing tools so that I can get it back closer to the 10.2 version and keep things modular. Until I get the chance to have modular UI, I will have to toy around with the new UI to access the generators and text in addiiton to the effects and transitions

Regret updating

Horrible slow downs and crashes. This version of FCPx is so so much slower than the previous version. I was happy enough with FCP before but now it’s unbelievably slow and I can’t seem to get it back to where it was. Using a year old Imac 5k with highest graphics and cpu available…and this is how it runs? Give me a break. With every session at least one crash. This program CRASHES way too often. I thought updating to Mac Sierra would help….it didnt. it just got worse. I wouldn’t recommend updating

SInce Sierra and 10.3 FCPX is UNUSEABLE!!!

cant even get it to start up now, when it does nothing will upload to youtube, support DOES NOT HELP!!

Buggy

This program is buggy. It’s good alot of the time (my preferred video editor), but I shouldn’t be experiencing the amount of bugs that I am on a high end 2015 macbook pro. I’m running a 15” 2.8 GHz Intel Core i7 with 16gb of ram and many times, the trackpad won’t zoom in on the project’s timeline. When I put a new video clip onto the timeline, for some reason, it refuses to split the video. I try the split shortcut, and I also try the actual blade tool, but it just refuses to work, so I’m forced to shut down the program and reopen it (sometimes fixing the issue). This program is good, but seems to be more and more buggy with each update.

This is THE gold standard in professional movie production

I have been a Final Cut user for many years and this is my first review: When I switched to the Mac from a Windows PC back in 2007, Apple offered a discount version of this app called, “Final Cut Express HD” as a package when ordering a new Macintosh. That was basically Final Cut with training wheels, so to speak. Back then, if you wanted the full application, it would cost $999.99 at retail price that never went on sale. Many years later, when Apple invented the Mac App Store, Final Cut Pro was offered for an insanely great price of only $299.00 that made the App Store concept a real winner for me! Fast forward to today. I love being a Mac user! Part of the Mac experience is great software that enables me to be as creative as my imagination allows. Final Cut Pro X is a really powerful and flexible movie editor that offers rich visual editing with a dynamic timeline that is a blessing to work with to create the most amazing movies you can possibly imagine. Learning is a bit tricky in this update because the layout has changed. I often find myself trying to reorient myself to the new layout even though I have been using it for years. The inspector is just as powerful as ever and you will love using it. If you started out with iMovie like I did many years ago, you are in for a treat! Two companion apps that I highly recommend, Compressor and Motion are an incredible value at only $50 bucks each! If the reason you are reading this review is because of the price, then fear not! I am using this on a Mac mini and it works great! This app is exclusive to the Mac experience to help unleash you creativity as a movie producer. Recomended: Yes

Way more stable

Apple must have been listening. Not only is this version way more stable, but it looks a hell of a lot better too—for what it’s worth.

Long live X

I started working with NLEs in the late 90’s and I quickly moved from Avid to the original Final Cut which I used all the way until it was discontinued. I was one of the many editors that was underwhelmed by the initial launch of FCPX as it lacked far too many features that were essential to my workflow. That was five years ago, it turns out FCPX is the most innovative NLE on the market. Being able to organize all of your media via metadata was a truly revolutionary concept and now with the implementation of roles and lanes, you can now organize your audio in your timeline via metadata which is a vast improvement over traditional patching of tracks as you go. The XML roundtrip with Resolve is second to none as the XML from X is far more advanced that the old XML that FCP7 spit out. The magnetic timeline, which many editors simply cannot wrap their head around, is the most innovative feature of X. Most NLE’s leave gaps, have clip collisions and throw things out of sync but X is the opposite, it is in a constant state of ripple and you have to tell it to leave the gaps and actually detach the audio to throw things out of sync. This speeds up trimming, sliding, rolling and slipping and being able to simply swap shots around in the timeline (with audio effects attached if need be) is a huge time saver. The latest version is by far the most polished version of the software to date. It really shows that Apple is indeed listening to the community of editors that have embraced this controversial but extremely powerful NLE. There was nothing in the latest update that I would call “not pro”. What would a non professional need with roles based mixing or being able to monitor in Rec 2020 color space? This is the fastest, least expensive, most stable and powerful NLE on the market. Everyone who dismisses this NLE have fun patching tracks, running into clip collisions and paying monthly subscription fees.

I’ve won 6 regional Emmys® with X so far… just sayin’, I love it...

Dont listen to the detractors if you are on the fence. I am very familiar with all of the big NLEs in the industry. I have access to all of them and I am a longtime power user of AVID and FCP7 (fine softwares in their own right)… yet I choose FCPX to edit with. X is far and away my favorite NLE. Why? Too many reasons to list, but here’s a few: FCPX is elegant and forward thinking and it is entirely capable of handling any kind of project from shorts, promos and music videos, to longer format TV and film. X is such a dynamic new paradigm with so many unique and powerful ways to work, that it allows editors to employ a staggering variety of workflows. It is exciting to be on the cusp of a whole new world of ways in which media can be created. The magnetic timeline is a brilliant advancement that admittadly was baffling at first, but now makes the standard track-based timelines feel archaic to me. Thanks to the magnetic timeline, and the lack of collision-prone dedicated tracks, and no time-wasting patch bay, I can A-Roll an episode of one of our TV shows in almost half the time vs. a standard track-based NLE. It is really worth wrapping your head around the magnetic timeline, even if it initially feels very alien for longtime editors. The price and availability of 3rd party fx, transitions, etc., is staggering. Rigging and publishing with Motion has allowed me to develop many specific tools that are available to me in X, making for tons of flexibility. I’ve built many custom generators that allow me to get graphic intensive projects out of my compositing software, and into my NLE while preserving the ability to adjust parameters and drop in video without ever returning to Motion. The graphics capability in X means that for projects involving basic compositing I can get great results without needing a compositing software at all. Audio is brilliant, with endless flexibility and very robust Logic-based filters and compressors, and each audio clip already has a responsive 31 band equalizer built in. Re-timing video clips and building speed ramps is insanely easy and fun to do. The much maligned color board is actually excellent, as are the color masking and power windows. Also, X has probably the BEST scopes of any NLE/Color software, fast, beautiful and responsive. FCPX also plays nicely with all kinds of 3rd party options for curves, LUTs, LOG/RAW, etc. FCPX works brilliantly with RED footage, and is immediately on top of new codecs as they appear. Our production facility has several Avids connected to an ISIS. It’s a great setup, and guess what, X plays nicely with ISIS too… Oh yeah, the entire X suite, including the very impressive Motion, is only $400…. Mind-blowing in my opinion. Bottom line: I’m doing the best work of my career on FCPX. I’ve been winning regional Emmy’s® every year, and I’m faster than ever. The FCPX work I do includes national commercial accounts, messaging/product work for some of the biggest companies in the country, and 8 different regional or national TV programs in a variety of genres. X is a joy to use and has reinvigorated my love of editing. I’ve experienced almost none of the issues that other users mention in their reviews, and one of the Macs I still use is a late 2008 model! The latest versions of X have been as stable and predictable as any of our other NLEs, often more stable. After a few hiccups in it’s infancy, now FCPX just works. As for people saying it’s a worthless software, well…. they just seem really confused to me. All the vitriol is pointless IMO. Find the tools you love, learn to use them properly, and then use them. Railing against a tool you can’t figure out is a waste of time, and tends to reflect on the reviewer more than the software. But to each their own… I hope X keeps growing its’ user base and acceptance in the industry. It was built for us editors to unlock and speed up our creativity, and that’s what it has done for me. Happy editing!

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