3 minute read
Someone needs to check to see if it’s snowing in Miami, because what was considered “improbable” has happened: Apple has finally brought Final Cut Pro and Logic Pro to the iPad.
Why did I say to check if it’s snowing in South Florida? Because many of us have speculated whether Final Cut Pro and Logic Pro would ever be available as full-blown apps on the iPad or iPad Pro, ever since the tablet debuted in 2010. Some of us figured that Logic Pro had the better chance, especially since there was already some compatibility on the iPad.
Well, Apple finally did it and released both apps for the iPad, making it all of a sudden a full-blown, all-in-one production, post-production, and music solution. You'll be able to film, edit, finish, mix, and compose music on your iPad.
Final Cut Pro for iPad features
This isn’t some sort of ‘ported’ or stripped-down version of Final Cut Pro appearing on the iPad either. It’s a fairly complete version, giving editors plenty of the features they use on the desktop and laptop version of FCP. It also takes full advantage of the Multi-Touch features of the iPad.
You’ll be able to record, edit, finish, and share your projects, created completely in this version of FCP, without the need for opening up the project on a computer to do the finishing.
Some of the cooler features that made Final Cut Pro X stand out when it debuted in 2011 are here, including the magnetic timeline. There is a digital jog wheel that makes it easy to move around the timeline and make frame-accurate cuts. Plus, multicamera editing via touch! It also supports ProRes RAW and HDR with the 12.9-inch iPad Pro with the Liquid Retina XDR display.
Becoming an expert with the Apple Pencil may become a necessity for many editors, as it can skim through footage. You'll also be able to do Live Drawing with the Apple Pencil, literally writing and drawing over footage. If you need a physical keyboard, there's the option of using the Smart Keyboard Folio or a Magic Keyboard.
Apple also has a Scene Removal mask via machine learning, which can replace or remove backgrounds without the need for filming in front of a green screen (wow!). Another great feature is Voice Isolation to remove any unwanted sound.
Fast Cut gets your edits done faster with the Apple silicon chip (M1 or M2) along with machine learning. Plus it includes titles, transitions, and more.
Many of you have likely been on set with a laptop organizing clips or maybe even do rough cuts of scenes on a laptop with your NLE of choice. The iPad Pro with the M1 chip is quite powerful and is much easier to carry than a laptop and with a smaller footprint.
More and more people are opting for a fully loaded tablet over an expensive laptop for most of their work. But if you’re a Final Cut Pro user, you were still tied to your computer, until now.
You'll need a 12.9-inch iPad Pro (5th or 6th generation), the 11-inch iPad Pro (3rd or 4th generation), or iPad Air (5th generation) running iPadOS 16.4 or later to work with Final Cut Pro. It's also easy to share it to a Mac to work in the desktop version of FCP.
Speaking of which, I wonder if we'll see some of the features trickle up to the desktop version of Final Cut Pro? Using a MacBook Pro or Air's touchpad or the Magic Trackpad would be a great way to simulate the Multi-Touch features in FCP, along with those found in Logic Pro.
Logic Pro for iPad features
Logic Pro could very well be 'made' for the iPad. Imagine using Multi-Touch to compose, mix, and share music and audio? You'll be able to create beats, record, edit, play instruments, and more, all within Logic Pro for the iPad. The virtual piano you can 'play' is really cool!
You'll be able to use the fully featured mixer with channel strips, pan controls, volume faders, plugin support, and more. You also have access to a nice-sized library of royalty-free loops, samples, and instruments.
To use Logic Pro, you'll need an iPad powered by at least the A12 Bionic chip and iPadOS 16.4 or later.
Monthly costs
With the release of both apps for the iPad, Apple is also adopting a subscription model for both. Final Cut Pro and Logic Pro will each cost $4.99 a month (or $49.99 per year), and they also each come with a free trial.
I don't have much of a problem with subscription models, from Adobe Creative Cloud on down to my favourite calendar app. But it’s refreshing that Final Cut Pro, Compressor, and Motion were still ‘buy once and receive free updates' seemingly for life.
However it makes sense to use a SaaS model (software as a service) to allow for frequent updates, particularly since so many iPad apps have some sort of subscription model to unlock more features.
One has to wonder if the standard versions of Final Cut and Logic Pro will soon adopt the SaaS model. But on the whole this is a great move by Apple as more and more users are opting for tablets over laptops, such as the incredibly powerful iPad Pro. Check out Apple’s site for more information (Final Cut Pro and Logic Pro).
Tags: Post & VFX
Comments