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Final Cut Pro

Score9 out of 10

132 Reviews and Ratings

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What is Final Cut Pro?

Apple offers Final Cut Pro, a video editing platform featuring optimized for a high performance machines and supporting a wide range of quality effects.

Categories & Use Cases

Reviews

What users are saying about Final Cut Pro.
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FCPX Final Cut Pro X Steps to a Productive Workflow

Incentivized
Marc BlakeView profile
Producer in Professional Services at Domrémy Talent (1-10 employees employees)

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

I produce weekly PSAs in my community for one of our many local radio stations. I have created templates with FCPX that allow me to quickly replace holding place items on muy timeline with the actual content. This makes each PSA brand consistent and allows for quick no-nonsene production and output.

Pros

  • Even though I do have a variety of plugins, the ones that are part of FCPX are very useful and handle many tasks when I want to "tweak" video and audio clips.
  • I created my own presets that lower mids in music and raise mids in VO's so that background music with voice is clear and legible. This is with FCPX's tools
  • I have a huge sound library to go to. FCPX easily accepts these files and they are readily available for all my editing projects when needed.
  • Output variety may not seem like a big deal, but it is.
  • I do a LOT of multi-cam work. FCPX shines in this area and if I have too many clips, generating proxies allow me to work without overwhelming CPU hiccups

Cons

  • This is very petty... but it would be nice to drag n drop a folder location from any of my external drives when creating a new library to auto-set the cache and render file locations. Maybe you can... I'll try it right now. You MUST enter the modify storage dialogue and choose the storage folder. Dragging onto the gui would be drag, drop, done instead of navigating the file system in a finder-window that opens when you "choose."

Return on Investment

  • I make a living producing videos, music, TV commercials, web stuff, marketing pieces, personal projects. one project and it's paid for.

Usability

Alternatives Considered

Adobe PhotoShop, Adobe Illustrator CC, Adobe InDesign, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Exchange, GoDaddy, SiteGround, HostGator, Bluehost, TextExpander, Midjourney, ChatGPT, Divi, Ultimate Forms and Adobe Acrobat

Other Software Used

Adobe Acrobat, Adobe InDesign, Adobe Illustrator CC, TextExpander, Microsoft Excel

Final Answer Final Cut Pro

Incentivized
Verified User
Professional in Marketing (201-500 employees employees)

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

Final Cut Pro has been our 'Go To' editing software for quite some time. The reason? It is a powerful, intuitive editing tool that has continued to advance an innovate without losing why we chose it in the first place. The fact that it is an Apple product was one of the reasons we were first drawn to it, and yet it has exceeded our expectations and become not only our platform of choice, but an indistry staple for quality and reliability.

Pros

  • Asset intake from a variety of resources that we can easily ingest and catalogue for smoother workflows
  • Clear and intuitive menus and tool sets that make sense without getting bloated as as other platforms tend to get. FCP keeps the interface clear and uncluttered.
  • Multi-level editorial paths and the ability to include multiple video tracks, audio, dialogue, music, graphics and more - all without bogging down the system or causing lag in editing or rendering.
  • FCP set the industry standards on the quality outputs and options for preparing video assets for omnichannel content creation.

Cons

  • Adding more plug-and-play templates to create assets for different channel distribution.
  • Responsive editing wherein an edit can be migrated to different formatting on the fly while still keeping the edited content properly balanced for that format. For example: going from widescreen movie format to a 9:16 format for a social media reels or stories post.
  • Providing more free video assets like graphics and transitions to provide a broader range of editorial options.
  • Including more luts and overlays to enhance stylistic trends.
  • Incorporate more AI workflows and text-to-action editorial innovations.

Return on Investment

  • The initial investment in Final Cut Pro has paid for itself 1,000x
  • The ongoing updates and enhancements come in timely increments that continue to improve our editorial capabilities and experience
  • Updates that get made simply make sense. They're not there for the sake of an update - it is as if the Apple team overseeing Final Cut Pro actually work with the software themselves as well as listen actively to the community at large for the things we need for proper editorial efficiencies.

Usability

Alternatives Considered

Adobe Premiere Pro, Camtasia, Adobe After Effects, Pinnacle Studio and Avid Pro Tools

Other Software Used

Camtasia, iMovie, Adobe After Effects

Final Cut Pro -Still Magnetic

Incentivized
Verified User
Employee in Marketing (5001-10,000 employees employees)

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

I use Final Cut Pro as an editing tool where I edit lots of videos like corporate, demos, events, and other videos. Final Cut Pro is a best-in-class editing tool, but with new enhancements, it lags behind its peers.

Pros

  • handle more completed edits well
  • timeline runs smooth even with heavy graphical elements
  • lots of template options to use

Cons

  • need more mature motion-graphics software support, like After Effects.
  • better collaborative workflow
  • better Media management
  • AI capabilities

Return on Investment

  • low-cost ownership
  • speed up editing that finally increase revenue
  • ease of use no heavy lifting to train new staff

Usability

Alternatives Considered

DaVinci Resolve and Adobe Premiere Pro

Other Software Used

Adobe Premiere Pro, Adobe After Effects, Adobe PhotoShop, DaVinci Resolve, Adobe Illustrator CC, ElevenLabs Prime Voice AI, Gemini, ChatGPT, Anthropic Claude, Adobe Firefly, Adobe Express, Canva, Figma, Microsoft 365, Miro

Final Cut, still the best!!

Incentivized
François LavalléeView profile
president in Human Resources at Aliter Concept (1-10 employees employees)

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

I have to record several live or virtual conferences. My primary use of Final Cut, although not professional (using all the effects and features), is to produce professional-looking videos that will be exportable to social media or on the private website I created for my clients. Final Cut is just a perfect tool to produce high-quality videos rapidly.

Pros

  • Export to compressor.
  • Easily add subtitle.
  • Possible to copy and paste templates.
  • Possible to add soundtrack without any hassle.
  • Possible to extract soundtrack.

Cons

  • The tool palettes and toolbars are sometime difficult to decipher.
  • Some advanced features are not easy to find.
  • Floating descriptive menu whenever the mouse moves on the tool might help.
  • So many tools that a novice is easily lost.
  • A menu of all the keyboard shortcuts would be useful.

Return on Investment

  • Allows my business to self publish video of high quality.
  • Allows my business to rapidly export videos to social media.
  • In conjunction with Compressor this is an exceptional tool.
  • The editing tool allows my business and I to conduct lengthy interviews with experts and share them in a very professional manner.
  • The fact that we can do everything ourselves without outside help saves us a lot of money.
  • Excellent investment!!

Usability

Alternatives Considered

Adobe Premiere Pro and iMovie

Other Software Used

Handbrake Video Transcoder, YouTube Live, iMovie, Microsoft Teams, Skype, Apple Keynote

Easy to use and priced right.

Incentivized
Michael DancyView profile
video editor in Marketing at Think Video (1-10 employees employees)

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

I've been using FCPX since 2015, which has increased my video output speed. Once you assign the keyboard shortcuts, someone can edit quickly within the app. Whether it's doing overlays with voiceover, simple cuts, or more complex masking, FCPX can do it. It's simple to learn and easy to use and a powerhouse with the new Apple Silicon processors. Plus, it's a one-time cost—no recurring payments for features you might not use. I considered switching and trying Adobe PP, but the learning curve was steep, and I was not too fond of recurring billing. I also tried DaVinci Resolve but preferred editing with FCPX since I can quickly pump out a video.

Pros

  • Adding titles is easy.
  • Overlays and voiceovers.
  • Detach audio for L and J cuts.
  • Simple effects using waypoints and movements.

Cons

  • Motion is a seperate application that ties in with FCPX but it's difficult to learn and use.
  • The first frame dictates the resolution and frame rate for the rest of the video so use the highest res video you have to get started.

Return on Investment

  • Over the nine years that I've been using Final Cut, it's paid for itself multiple times.
  • Once you learn the tool, it can be used quickly and efficiently.
  • It only works with Macs but can also be used on a iPad if you are budget conscious.

Usability

Alternatives Considered

DaVinci Resolve and Adobe Premiere Pro

Other Software Used

Microsoft Excel