Just a few days before the release of the Hollywood romantic comedy film Focus, starring Will Smith and Margot Robbie, Apple has provided a behind-the-scenes look at how Final Cut Pro X was used to produce the movie. The feature page provides an in-depth profile of how Final Cut Pro X was used for editing, screen-ready effects and post-production.
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Focus directors John Requa and Glenn Ficarra opted to use Apple's professional video editing software because they found it provided a fast and straightforward workflow. The software gave the directors fine-tuned control over all aspects of the film and provided the flexibility to easily move between editing on a Mac Pro and working with a MacBook Pro on location.
After researching several workflows, Requa and Ficarra decided to cut their major studio feature entirely in Final Cut Pro X. The results were even better than they’d expected. The movie came in on time and under budget, and it played and looked just as they’d envisioned it. “We got exactly the film we set out to make,” says Requa. “What I love about Final Cut Pro X is that it allowed me to be involved with, and in control of, every aspect of making our film.”
Final Cut Pro X was highly criticized by some professional video editors when it was released in 2011, but the directors of Focus told USA Today that they value how the software is easier to use and resembles the look of iMovie. These comments come amid criticism that Apple is dumbing down certain areas of OS X, including the removal of Aperture in favor of the all-new Photos for Mac app.
"Many editors called the new FCPX 'iMovie Lite,' when it was released, and not ready for the big leagues, but Ficarra says he likes that FCPX is easier to use, and that it's look and feel is akin to iMovie. 'We have a whole generation of kids learning on iMovie,' he says. 'They'll be familiar with this tool when they get into the real world.'"
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The film crew used Mac Pro-equipped on-set mobile post systems from a cutting-edge Los Angeles-based post-production company and used metadata markers to identify the best shots taken each day. Final Cut Pro X enabled this metadata to be searchable and handled full-resolution ProRes 4444 files with ease.
Ficarra believes that the metadata advantage gave them unprecedented control over their story line. “I was able to say, ‘I need Will’s side in this take,’” he says. “And because even his improvisations were specially tagged, we were able to filter and come out with it. The upshot was just infinite searchability. We could change direction so fast and do multiple iterations. Sometimes while we were editing we felt as if we were actually rewriting the movie.”
The full-length feature page on Apple's website goes into further details about how Final Cut Pro X was used throughout all stages of the film's production. The in-depth page also outlines other Apple products and third-party hardware used to make the film a reality, including the Mac Pro, iMac, MacBook Pro, iPad, iPhone, Logic Pro X, Motion 5, Xsan, Apogee Quartet, Quantel Pablo Rio system and more.
Final Cut Pro X is $299.99 on the Mac App Store [Direct Link].
Top Rated Comments
nobody uses FCP X professionally, with the exception of this movie and one tv show. zero commercial houses. period. professional commercial/film/tv video editor here, freelancing in LA for the past 14 years. avid was the reigning beast for years, and slowly FCP crept in. as an early adopter, but user of both, I applauded as they encroached a 50% market share in post facilities. it was easy to use, and made timeline editing a snap. it just couldn't ever keep up with avid for projects that you had to share across servers with multiple editors simultaneously thanks to the bin structure. but for everything short form (commercials mainly) it was the best of the best. then X came out. and we limped along with 7, waiting for the day apple would wise up and bring along a 64bit version. that day, we are coming to accept, is never coming. all post houses are starting to finally dump 7 thanks to the lack of support and inability to keep up with modern cameras. it is still used, but backslid dramatically. the 50-60% of fcp houses reverted back to avid, and maybe 15% still use 7, while 25% now use premiere. i hated premiere, but in the stark void FCP left behind and Avid can't touch thanks to it's limited editing abilities and archaic design and functionality, premiere has leaped and bounded with significant improvements version after version. i have cried myself to sleep many a night over the inevitable death of fcp 7 thanks to X and i can finally stop, because there is finally a new future ready version of final cut out, and it is premiere CC2014. i have never seen anyone professional use X and i never will. congratulations apple, on killing the product that made me and many like me switch to using apple computers in the first place. enjoy your prosumers, because no professional editor will ever use you again.
A very heart-felt rant, but not a lot of talk about why FCPX isn't a professional tool. Maybe that's because it actually is a professional tool. Have you checked it out lately, or has bitterness completely consumed you?
can it support multiple sequences? the idea that they started ANY editing program marketed as a professional tool where you can't have multiple sequences is insanity.
Which is why FCPX can do that.
I don't love this program across the board, but I do find that the people who hate it the most know the least about it.
nobody uses FCP X professionally
Do you mean commercially? Because most of the professionals I know, including myself, use FCPX for all of our work. Or are we not "professionals" because we don't work for major companies?
nobody uses FCP X professionally, with the exception of this movie and one tv show. zero commercial houses. period.
My nobody friend just used it to produce the 2015 Sundance Grand Jury Prize winner for world documentary. So there's that.