The big news this week is the release of both the new
Mac Pro and the
XDR Display. The Mac Pro is a monster of a machine, but you don't need to buy it fully loaded to take advantage of it for video editing. I'll have an article next week with ideas on how to configure a system that provides plenty of performance, without breaking the bank.
Apple continues to get the bugs out of
macOS Catalina. The latest version - 10.15.2 - was released last week as well. I think it's finally safe to update - I'm not hearing of the kind of problems that plagued the initial release.
Along with the release of the Mac Pro,
Apple updated all its video software - it's my
lead story this week. My plan is to upgrade my main edit system to Catalina this coming week, but keep two other computers running earlier OS versions... just in case. I'll also update Final Cut. I'll let you know how it goes in next week's newsletter.
Turning to other news,
Mike Grieve, Commercial Director for Color Trix Ltd., sent me a note about the latest update to
Color Finale - version 2. This FCP X-only plug-in adds a host of new color grading features, including: masking, area tracking, shot matching, film emulation, LUT manager, sharpening and video analysis tools. The software is designed to color grade projects directly in Final Cut Pro X, without round-tripping to other applications. A free trial is available.
Turning to the new articles this week, my
lead story details what's in the latest updates to Final Cut Pro X, Motion and Compressor. PLUS, I also have links that provide a detailed list of past updates and features for you to review to see if you missed something that Apple added.
I also discovered that it's possible to create backups of Motion and Compressor. This makes it easy to revert to an earlier version if you ever need to. (And, no, I don't think this is possible for FCP X.) That's my
second story this week.
Then, I have two product reviews:
Image Chest, an inexpensive program for cataloging and finding image files, and
Post Haste, an organizational tool that simplifies creating folders and template files at the start of a project.
That's it for this week. Be sure to sign up for
The Inside Tips newsletters - FREE tips you can put to work today delivered directly to your email inbox! Join thousands of other editors and discover the tips that help you make the most of your software. Chat with you next week, in the meantime,
edit well
!
