Apple had a bunch of new announcements recently, but one stood out among the rest. Well, two that sort of go hand-in-hand. First, Apple has released Final Cut Pro for iPad 2, a direct upgrade to the existing FCP for iPad.
Apple also announced the Final Cut Camera app, which puts Apple head-to-head against Blackmagic Camera. As well as more advanced options than the default camera app, it lets you remotely control and monitor up to four iPhones using Final Cut Pro for iPad 2’s new Live Multicam feature.
Final Cut Pro 2 and Final Cut Camera – Live Multicam
The updated Final Cut Pro for iPad 2 includes a new Live Multicam feature. The feature is essentially as the name sounds. It allows you to shoot multicam footage directly from your iPad screen using iPhones as your cameras.
With the FCP for iPad 2 app, you’re able to connect up to four iPhones running Final Cut Camera and control them remotely right from your iPad. You’re able to adjust exposure, white balance, focus, and the other usual settings you’d expect in a camera.
The cameras are all captured at once, and you can switch between production and editing. This means you can live cut your recording as it’s happening.
Apple vs Blackmagic
I’m not too surprised that Apple has released this kind of capability, but I am surprised that they’re the first to do it. DaVinci Resolve has been on the iPad for a while now. And, of course, there’s the Blackmagic Camera app.
Blackmagic’s app almost instantly knocked Filmic Pro off its top spot as the best video shooting app for iPhone. Filmic Pro was on its way out anyway, however, after switching from a one-time purchase to a subscription model – as evidenced by the fact that the parent company has now laid off all Filmic Pro staff.
It will be interesting to see if Blackmagic will introduce similar functionality to their respective apps at some point. Is this even an option for third-party developers? It’s entirely possible that Apple has created this functionality to keep it under lock and key for their own use only.
Still, it would be nice to see it come to Blackmagic’s applications.
Price and Availability
There’s no word on the price or availability of the new Final Cut Pro for iPad 2 or Final Cut Camera yet. They’re coming at some point, and they’ll cost something or nothing. I expect that the Final Cut Camera app may potentially be free – given the potential adoption challenges vs Blackmagic Camera.
The current version of Final Cut Pro for iPad costs $4.99/mo as a monthly subscription or $49/year as an annual subscription. Whether or not this will increase is unknown.
