FCPX 10.4.9 Updates for Better Online Videos and Beyond
Apple’s newest version of FCPX, 10.4.9, includes many long-awaited and long-requested updates.
FCPX has come a long way from the software it was 10 years ago. As someone who quickly abandoned the program shortly after its initial release, I’ve now happily switched back. After the constant improvements made over the years, this video editing software now looks solid. This round of updates has continued to solidify FCPX as one of the best NLEs out today. Let’s look at the recent additions.
Custom Overlay and Smart Conform for Social Media
Let’s face it — TikTok and Instagram have completely changed the way we capture, edit, deliver and display video. The days are long gone when we only had to worry about filming or delivering in one aspect ratio. Now, when I’m on a shoot, I have to ask if we need to frame and plan to deliver for social almost every time. Files no longer just live in 16×9. They need to be captured to cater to 16×9, 9×16 and 1:1 aspect ratios. The developers for FCPX realized this and created new and enhanced workflows to address this.
Before FCPX 10.4.9, editors would have to manually create and reframe projects for every unique aspect ratio. The new smart conform feature removes a lot of the heavy lifting for filmmakers. For example, if you need to conform a 16:9 project to 9:16, smart conform will analyze your footage and place the subject neatly and automatically within the new frame. While this is a great and time-saving new feature, it’s definitely not something you want to set and forget. You’ll still need to verify that the reframing is to your liking. However, this helps with most of the heavy lifting.
Custom overlays now also allow you to create your own uniquely sized overlays to help with framing of your projects. If you needed to create a 1:1 version, this feature allows you to use smart conform.
Improved Raw Camera Setting Workflows
With the latest release, working with ProRes Raw footage features an entirely new interface. If you’ve ever had the pleasure of working with Raw video files, you know just how malleable they can be. You can easily adjust your ISO and even color temperature all within your editor. Now, FCPX, has a robustly built-in support for your ProRes Raw settings.
Also improved are the workflows with RED Raw files and Canon Cinema Raw Light files. Now the encoding of 8K RED RAW files to ProRes 422 is up to 2x faster. Also, the playback and editing of 8K Canon Cinema Raw Light is available.
Improved Proxy Workflow
Back in February, I got one of the new Canon C500 MII’s. The camera is capable of 5.7K Canon Cinema Raw Light files, which are massive in data. Because of that, I’ve always been a little too afraid to fully try it out because, well, I’ll admit, I love to edit on a laptop and portable drives. I’m simple in that way. I’ve tried to do desktops in the past, but I’ve always felt far too constrained doing so. I need the freedom to work wherever the wind takes me. Yet, I love working with the highest quality files possible. 5.7K Raw files and laptops don’t typically play well together. What gives.
Luckily, FCPX’s improved proxy workflow has just enabled my vices even further.
Now working with data intensive high resolution Raw files, while on a laptop, is easier and smoother than ever before with the improved proxy workflow. Let’s look at what’s improved.
Previously, proxy workflows and proxy files in FCPX were fairly non-customizable. You got what you got and didn’t get upset. Now you can quickly and easily select which resolution and even codec you want your proxy files to be. With either ProRes Proxy or H264 options, you can encode your proxies anywhere from a 960×540 resolution all the way up to your original frame size. This simple adjustment can drastically improve your working files sizes. For example, if your original source files was a 5.3 GB ProRes 422 UHD file and you encoded the proxy as a H.264 Proxy at 50%, your proxy file would now be 219MB or just 4% of your original file size.
The best part is that you can even custom encode a proxy for a singular clip. For example, if you have a 6K 40 minute interview in a beefy codec that has trouble playing back, you can now encode and compress that specific clip into a unique proxy file with completely different settings than the rest.
To make things even better, you can now create proxy only libraries. If you’re extremely limited on storage or you need to send smaller files digitally to another editor, proxy only libraries make this a breeze. These new libraries contain only proxy media with no connection to the original media. This enables faster editing and a reduced need for storage space.
Once the edit is complete, the completed proxy project can be sent back to where the original files are kept and then relinked. If you’re working with remote editors or editing on an underpowered machine, then this is a major breakthrough.
Audio Crossfades
Editors have been begging for an audio crossfade ever since the release of FCPX. Now, 10 years later, the audio crossfade has finally arrived. Now we no longer have to grab our pen tool and create our own. You can easily create your own crossfade by selecting two adjacent audio clips and pressing OPT+T. Now you have a cross fade on your audio clips.
You can also customize the length of your cross fades by going to Preferences and adjusting the length of the standard audio fade to your liking.
360 Video Stabilization
FCPX has refined its stabilization features for 360 video. Now you can stabilize 360 video all within the program as opposed to previously doing so in your stitching programs. You can now also view 3D videos with separate streams for each eye, allowing the ability to refine your 3D videos with more precise detail.
Overall, these updates have continued to solidify how robust of an editing software FCPX has become over the past years. If you want to give these new features a try, you can download a free 30-day trial of FCPX.
Check out more of our FCPX tutorials:
- How to Take Control of Transitions in Final Cut Pro X
- How To Export A High Resolution Movie Out of Final Cut Pro X
- How to Sync Video with Professional Audio in Final Cut Pro X
- How to Quickly Stabilize Footage in Final Cut Pro
Cover image via Apple