Does FCP6 have improved video effects and filters?
 

Can anyone with FCP6 tell me whether it has improved video effects and filters? I'm especially interested in the chroma key support - is that the same as in FCP5?
Thanks

As far I can see no new chroma key. Recieved the update yesterday. New filters only a few. New are Master templates and a few stylize filters. Master templates are a bit like templates in DVD studio or Motion. You put your own clips or text in them but you can't change the template itself.

its a gradual update, not the big splash I've seen from FCP4 to FinalCutStudio.

I looked at Color but it's not a Mac program like we are used to. Looks more like a Windows adept for nerds. You can't do anything before reading the manual (like 20 years ago). I have to find out.

Thanks Klaas, feedback appreciated.

Greg,
I think Klaas got a different upgrade to me.
Not sure V6 has much in the way of filters but what it does have is stunning.
Smoothcam is a superb (if power/time consuming) feature that smooths out handheld footage. Hugely impressive and for my money worth a thousand filters.
Soundtrack has many new pro level enhancements.
Color is a sublime high end programme that will revolutionise grading on a budget. Is it too much to expect people to check out the manual?
As far as i'm concerned this is a huge update.

Dom is correct, unlike going from FCP 4.5 HD to ver 5 FCP 6/Studio is a massive leap forward. For example, the only way to get Smooth Cam and the optical flow retiming previously was to purchase Shake, which originally sold for $4k (recently lowered to around $400 I think). Now that functionality is part of Studio and is worth the price of studio alone.

When you throw in what Color, Pro-Res 422, the upgrades to Motion, Soundtrack etc have to offer this is not just an upgrade it's *almost* an entire facelift, similar in range to what Adobe has done to Premiere CS3.

I would highly recommend any FCP user to make the upgrade and take advantage of a suite of capabilities that only a few months ago would have cost over $10k to get - and how is easily attainable for $700 Educational or $1300 retail version.

And, when you consider that AJA is now making IO HD specifically to work with Pro-Res 422 we now have a serious contender for the hardware-based Avid suite.

Slightly off topic, does FCP6 now finally let you program ALL key combinations? Some of them in 5 are "reserved for Mac" combinations, which I find highly annoying, to say the least.

My copy is supposed to show up today, I'll try & get back to you on the keyboard question. In the meantime, here's the URL for the "what's new in 6" document:
<http//manuals.info.apple.com/en/Final_Cut_Pro_6_New_Features.pdf>

Educational is an even better bargain than that at $499

Some keys still reserved
 

Chris,

Some keys still can't be re-mapped.

Gosh darn it.
It's so annoying, giving us half the control only.

For instance, I used to use the apple-m key in Avid all day long to set a magnify up on the timeline.

On FCP, it makes the timeline minimize and in 5.1.4 I can't remap.

Yikes!

So I've stopped using it in either until FCP lets me remap. Slows me down whereas it should be speeding things up...

By the way Robert (and anyone else trying to get along with Color) this programme crashes if you leave it on unattended for too long. Andrew Balis and Graeme Nattress over at LAFCPUG sugggest it might be conected to the screen/energy saver features which should be turned OFF. Also the programme likes what Andrew calls a "beefy" graphics card. Alas, i think i got my Mac Pro with the bog standard budget option. Still i'm thrilled with the programme and would have happily paid for the upgrade on the basis of Color alone.
BYW, Michael Horton at LAFCPUG has started a new section for Color on their site, though it doesn't appear on the main Forum page as yet. This is likely to be the best place to discuss the new software's teething problems.

Dom, you're right. I took the wrong turn on Color. I opened the program and tried to import some video clips. No file showed up. The easy way is to point a clip in FCP and choose 'send to Color'. That works as one could expect. Nice and powerful.
I played arround with smoothcam to. It's incredible. I shoot 1080p25 only and it does a very nice job on that material.
The open format timeline is a real timesaver to. Open a new sequence in FCP, import clips and drop them on the timeline. FCP asks permission to adjust the sequence settings. You simply choose yes or no. Mixed material, DV and XDCAM HD, it works realtime.

Chris,

Probably didn't need to map it since Universal Access (built into the OS) does the zoom trick with ANY window including the timeline in FCP.

(Control panel: Easy Access: Zoom enable)

Then it's just Command Option EqualKey to zoom in on anything and Command Option MinusKey to zoom out.

For what it's worth.

Bill
Thanks for your tip!
The apple-M command in Avid sets up a variable magnification command that lets you choose what portion of the timeline to show in the new (zoomed) window, then if you apple-M again, it returns you to the previous zoom setting.

It's not a necessity, just a nicety.

I use the apple zoom you described, and also the other Avid preset zoom commands as well -- and also the Avid preset "bullseye" spot zoom button. Guess I'm just spoiled. but they all do slightly different things...