The release of Final Cut Studio 2 continues Apple’s legacy of producing what is quite possibly the most powerful video production software suite on the planet. Recent improvements include significantly better integration between applications, a new open format timeline, and the introduction of Color, an excellent grading and finishing application.
The installation of this massive collection usually takes a few hours, but rest assured you will not be disappointed when it is complete. Upon using the powerful applications in this suite you will quickly understand exactly why they are the best. Final Cut Studio 2 offers an exceptional editing platform, a low overall cost, and a talented pool of industry professionals. It is no wonder we chose Final Cut Studio 2 as the 2009 “TopTenREVIEWS Gold Award” winner for Video Production Software.
What’s in the Box
- Final Cut Pro 6 – video editing
- Motion 3 – motion graphics design
- Soundtrack Pro 2 – audio editing
- Color – color grading
- Compressor 3 – video encoding
- DVD Studio Pro 4 – authoring
- Cinema Tools 3 – film processing tools
- Qmaster 2 – another processing tool
- LiveType 2 – text animation
The overall workflow in Final Cut Studio 2 is improved with greater application integration. Menu options now make it possible to send clips from one application to another without having to close anything. For example, if you are working in Final Cut 6, you can export the clip to Motion, make changes, and then send it back to Final Cut 6, all without having to close the applications.
Another new feature is the open format timeline. You can even mix and match formats and frame rates in the same sequence without having to worry about that nasty red render bar.
Final Cut Studio 2 uses the new ProRes 422 production format. This allows editors to work with uncompressed high definition videos without needing a massive hard drive. In addition to preserving hard drive space, rendering clips in ProRes 422 is less processor intensive. Also, ProRes 422 doesn’t resample the resolution which means the full width of your HD video is preserved.
One area Apple is dropping behind in is the media management movement. Both Avid and Adobe have awesome management utilities but nothing really panned out in Final Cut Studio 2. The log and transfer tool is used to import media from flash memory cards, but that doesn’t compare to what is available with competing software. Log and transfer doesn’t address issues with the overall organization of files associated with a complete project. An integrated tool that provides an easy way to track meta data, assets and projects would be a great improvement to the Final Cut Studio workflow and we can only hope that such a tool is included in the Final Cut Studio 3 release.
Something that is not new is the Mac only aspect of Final Cut Studio 2. Because Final Cut Studio 2 is developed by Apple it is in a position where the editing package is optimized by the Apple machines it runs on. This makes it ideal to work with on a Mac but fails to include PC editors.
The DVD Studio application is clunky and could use an overhaul, but still serves its purpose. It can’t author Blu-Ray, which means it is behind the curve when compared to competitors like Avid and Adobe. If your projects demand Blu-Ray authoring, you would be better off looking at Media Composer 3.5 or Production Premium.
Final Cut Studio 2 is the only product in this category that doesn’t offer a free trial or demo.
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