We are looking forward to the release of the new Mac Pro and Pro Display XDR. We now know more about the release date and have more information on both.
It's been a busy day for announcements about the new 16 inch MacBook Pro, but there's also news on the new Mac Pro and Pro Display XDR.
The headlines on the new Mac Pro and Pro Display XDR are:
- Both the new Mac Pro and Pro Display XDR will be available in December.
- The Mac Pro can now take 8 TB of SSD
- At WWDC, Apple showed three streams of 8K ProRes RAW playing on the Mac Pro. Apple has now optimised the Afterburner, Cores and software so that the same machine can now playback 6 streams of 8K ProRes RAW.
So we finally have a date for the new Mac Pro and Pro Display XDR. When in December we don't know but it will be before the end of the year. Remember Apple released the cylindrical Mac Pro two days before Christmas!
The 19 inch rackmount version of the new Mac Pro will also be available in December. A few things to note here:
- It has a different chassis to the standalone desktop, so you can't just take the inside of the desktop and put it in the Mac rack casing.
- The same applies if you buy the rackmount version, you can't convert it into a desktop version.
- The rackmount version can take all the modules that populate the desktop version.
- The rackmount version comes in a custom case of five U high. There are two Thunderbolt 3 connectors on the front and a power switch. All other connectors are at the back.
- The rackmount version has a solid removable lid, which means you can stack other items on it if you wish. The cooling airflow is front to back.
When it was announced, the thousand dollar stand for the Pro Display XDR was thought to be expensive. We don't agree.
The stand is made up from over 200 parts and acts like a really accurate Anglepoise lamp. Move or tilt the screen and it stays there. It's not just a piece of machined aluminium.
A small button on the back allows you to easily rotate between landscape and portrait and back again. The screen detaches from the stand with a simple click. It makes the display very portable. Expect to find Peli cutouts for the display very soon.
The display feels pretty rugged holding it, we are sure you are going to see a lot of these on set, probably mounted to the DIT cart with the optional VESA adapter.
We are looking forward to December.
I am the Editor-in-Chief of FCP.co and have run the website since its inception ten years ago.
I have also worked as a broadcast and corporate editor for over 30 years, starting on one inch tape, working through many formats, right up to today's NLEs.
Under the name Idustrial Revolution, I have written and sold plugins for Final Cut Pro for 13 years.
I was made a Freeman of Lichfield through The Worshipful Company of Smiths (established 1601). Though I haven't yet tried to herd a flock of sheep through the city centre!
Current Editing
2020 has been busy, the beginning of the year was finishing off a new property series (cut on FCP) for Channel 4 called The Great House Giveaway. I also designed and built the majority of the graphics as Motion templates. It has been a great success and the shows grabbed more viewers in the 4pm weekday slot than any previous strand. It has been recommissioned by C4 for 60 episodes, including prime-time versions and five themed programmes. The shows have also been nominated for a 2021 BAFTA.
Although both were postponed to later in the year, I worked again on ITV's coverage of the Tour de France and La Vuelta. 2020 was my 25th year of editing the TdF and my 20th year as lead editor. The Tour was the first broadcast show to adopt FCPX working for multiple editors on shared storage.
BBC's Snooker has played a big part in my life, I've been editing tournament coverage since 1997. I'm proud to be part of a very creative team that has pioneered many new ideas and workflows that are now industry standard in sports' production. This is currently an Adobe Premiere edit.
Covid cancelled some of the regular corporate events that I edit such as trade shows & events. I was lucky however to edit, from home, on projects for Amazon Kindle, Amazon Black Friday, Mastercard and very proud to have helped local charitable trust Kendall & Wall secure lottery funding.
As for software, my weapon of choice is Final Cut Pro and Motion, but I also have a good knowledge and broadcast credits with Adobe Premiere Pro, MOGRT design and Photoshop.
Plugin Design & Development
I'm the creative force behind Idustrial Revolution, one of the oldest Final Cut Pro plugin developers. It hosts a range of commercial and free plugins on the site. One free plugin was downloaded over a thousand times within 24 hours of release.
I also take on custom work, whether it is adapting an existing plugin for a special use or designing new plugins for clients from scratch. Having a good knowledge of editing allows me to build-in flexibility and more importantly, usability.
FCP.co
Now in its 10th year and 4th redesign, running FCP.co has given me knowledge on how to run a large CMS- you are currently reading my bio from the database! Although it sounds corny, I am pretty well up on social media trends & techniques, especially in the video sector. The recent Covid restrictions has enabled live FCP.co shows online. This involves managing a Zoom Webinar through Restream.io to YouTube and Facebook.
The Future
I'm always open to new ideas and opportunities, so please get in touch at editor (at) fcp.co. I've judged film competitions, presented workflow techniques to international audiences and come up with ideas for TV shows and software programs!
