Apple Final Cut Pro 4: Apple upgrades its editing solution with powerful new tools.(Product/Service Evaluation)

There was a time, back when anything creative was done on a Mac, that any serious computer-based, non-linear video editor would have been Apple-based. That was before the great Wintel migration of the late 1990s, when editing companies and users alike sought more reliable and safer waters. Apple's response was Final Cut Pro, an application that from the start has delivered professional functionality for very little money. Now, with the release of Final Cut Pro 4, Apple has added features that address professional work flow shortcomings and make Final Cut Pro an extremely compelling tool regardless of the price and, just as important, help make it more accessible for non-video-centric creative professionals.

Final Cut Pro has been redefining the role of video editing, particularly in how it can be used by non-video-editing professionals. With Version 4, Apple really puts the hammer down. Based on QuickTime, Final Cut Pro has been well received by professional editors, but because it can be installed so affordably on nearly any creative desktop, it also has become an assembling area for integrating motion graphics, animation, audio, and video--a dramatic shift from the days of prohibitive NLE (Non-Linear Editor) pricing and an exclusive discipline. Now FCP4 offers more for professional editors, and improved accessibility for novices.

Version 4 has the same overall look and feel that have become industry standards. A two-window interface matches video industry conventions, and Apple's very clever semi-transparent, context-sensitive drop palette helps new users make sense of those editing conventions.

As you assemble clips into a movie by dragging clips onto a project's Canvas, the drop palette presents editing options. You just drop the right edit method, whether overlay or ripple, and FCP4 does the work.

Final Cut Pro has featured a professional trim mode from the start, too, but this is a great example of how FCP4 advances pro features while still making things easier for novices. As do some consumer video editors, FCP4 now supports trimming directly in the timeline, or Sequence window. But unlike consumer tools, in which such edits are hopelessly crude, Apple uses keystroke modifiers and timecode pop-ups to provide down-to-the-flame feedback. And it still enables serious fine-tuning in Trim mode, now enhanced with JKL keystroke options for efficiency, in fact, the keyboard is entirely customizable. Apple has offered ...