Apple Updates Final Cut Pro X, Motion, Compressor And MainStage Pro Apps

In what is surely a release timed (at least partially) to reassure pro users that Apple is still paying attention to them, the company has released updates to its Final Cut Pro X, Motion, Compressor and MainStage apps.

Earlier today, Apple announced that it was discontinuing Aperture, its pro photo editing app, in favor of the Photos app in the upcoming OS X Yosemite release.

As a part of the apps being updated, and emphasis on continuing pro support, Apple also timed a release from Scripps about the company’s decision to deploy Final Cut Pro X workflows across all of its TV stations nationwide:

Ray Thurber, vice president of engineering at Scripps shares that in field tests, Final Cut Pro X beat Premiere Pro in speed, flexibility and ease of use. Ray plans to unify Scripps’ TV and digital workflows by rolling out Final Cut Pro X in all of their 14 stations, noting,“Our plan is to go wherever people are getting their news, and with the Mac and Final Cut Pro X, we’re well equipped to do that.”

Apple told TechCrunch earlier in the day that it was committed to supporting the rest of its pro apps outside of Aperture, and a release of those apps timed to hit just as the news of rolling Aperture customers into Photos on the new OS X is probably a good way to reinforce that.

Here’s what’s new in the apps:

Final Cut Pro X
What’s New in Version 10.1.2

  • Optimized, proxy, and rendered media can be stored at any location outside of the library
  • Easily delete optimized, proxy, and rendered media from within Final Cut Pro X
  • Used media indicators for Compound clips, Multicam clips, and Synced clips
  • Option to show only unused media in the Browser
  • Apply a standard (Rec. 709) look in real time to high dynamic range and wide color gamut video from ARRI, Blackmagic Design, Canon, and Sony cameras
  • Automatically apply an ARRI embedded 3D LUT from the new AMIRA camera
  • Support for Apple ProRes 4444 XQ
  • Improved speed and accuracy when synchronizing clips
  • Audio recording improvements including countdown and automatic Audition creation from multiple takes
  • Fast export of cuts-only projects containing XDCAM media
  • Export entire library as a single XML file
  • Selecting a library displays key metadata in the Inspector
  • Adjust relative and absolute volume of a clip or range selection
  • Create Keywords from Finder Tags when importing media
  • Option to sort events by date or name in the Libraries list
  • Import a clip by dragging directly into the Browser
  • Share 4K video to Vimeo

Motion
What’s New in Version 5.1.1

  • Support for Apple ProRes 4444 XQ
  • Improved Sequence Text behavior for animating characters, words, and lines
  • Enhanced Contrast filter parameters for refined adjustments

Compressor
What’s New in Version 4.1.2

  • Support for Apple ProRes 4444 XQ
  • Better performance when working with large batches
  • Status display and improved responsiveness when using “Send to Compressor” from Final Cut Pro X and Motion
  • Improved performance and color accuracy when encoding H.264 source files from GoPro cameras
  • Fixes issues transcoding alpha channels in image sequences
  • Includes general stability improvements

MainStage 3

What’s New in Version 3.0.4

  • Addresses an issue that caused MainStage to quit unexpectedly when using 8-bit Bluetooth headsets and other devices with unsupported bit depths
  • Resolves an issue that could cause screen controls with independent assignments to move simultaneously