To all the budding film makers and editors out there Apple have announced that in June the new 'Final Cut Pro X' will be released for sale, via the 'Apps Store'. This is fantastic news because on first showing it will replace both 'Final Cut Express 4' and 'Final Cut Pro', which whilst superb editing programmes are a little outdated and in need of a serious revamp.

The new Final Cut Pro X looks like it will fully integrate with the editing programme in iMovie11, which should make the process of exporting from the latter into the former a much more seamless process. One of my few complaints about Final Cut Express 4 and iMovie11 is that the two are completely differently animals and at times a pain in the backside, largely because any edited work in iMovie11 is often lost when exporting to FCE 4. Why this is the case, is open to conjecture but I suspect that both programmes were designed for both the hobbyist and more professional approach. I, like countless others, recognised that when moving up to FCE 4 from iMovie there was a steep learning curve involved and techniques learned in iMovie11 were incompatible for working in FCE 4.

However, with the growth in self expression and the revolution in digital film making, it appears that Final Cut Pro X will go a long way to making it possible for the hobbyist film maker to make more 'professional' films. Whilst I like Apple products, they are generally priced too highly and any Apple product I buy has to fulfil my criterion as a working tool. And here I take my hat off to Apple for pricing Final Cut Pro X at $299, which is a massive $700 saving on Final Cut Pro and $100 above the price of Final Cut Express 4. Additionally, because Final Cut Pro X will be sold through the Apple AppStore, it now means that every Mac you buy you will be able to download the Final Cut Pro X you originally bought. This will save the average Mac user a lot of money. Whilst I can't say that this will happen with everything you buy in the AppStore, it's a move in the right direction, and nice to see that the 'hole' in Apple's marketing strategy is being slowly filled by more competitive pricing.

As for the Mac range of products, I hope that these will also come down in price to more reasonable and manageable levels. Apple's growth in the computer sector now needs to be addressed in terms of price competiveness, if it isn't then as more manufacturers succeed in determining better specifications, people will move away from buying Apple products and once you lose a section of the market it's virtually impossible to get it back. Apple is now moving towards a greater share in computer sales, but the Apple brand as to respond to the new consumer demands if it wishes to remain in its present position.

One final word on Final Cut Pro X. As I watched its launch I just went 'wow', as it's an unbelievable piece of software. I was immediately smitten by it and I look forward to its release with a great deal of anticipation, and priced keenly it's going to resolve a lot of issues, including the bane of any editor's life, film rendering, which holds up the workflow enormously. Thankfully this will be done automatically in the background whilst you're editing. There are many other improvements as well, and there isn't the space here to cover them. My advice is to go and check it out.

Have fun!