Easily capture DV and HDV:

Capturing DV and HDV footage is as simple as connecting a camcorder to your Mac and keeping an eye on the Capture window to select what you’d like transferred. Preview it full screen on your primary or secondary display whenever you want. Final Cut Express 4 supports both standard-definition DV and high-definition 1080i and 720p HDV 

Work with AVCHD:

Now you can edit video captured with the most popular AVCHD devices, using the new Log and Transfer tool to access video recorded to disks, memory cards, or DVDs.* Select the clips you want, then transfer them to Final Cut Express 4. It’s never been easier to work with beautiful HD content. 

Import projects from iMovie ’09:

In iMovie ’09, you can skim through the clips in your library and quickly create a rough cut of your video project. Exporting it to Final Cut Express 4 for further editing couldn’t be easier — just choose Final Cut XML from the Share menu. Then open your project in Final Cut Express 4 to put the finishing touches on your project using its expanded, professional toolset. 

Drag-and-drop editing:

Editing in Final Cut Express 4 provides a world-class experience. Based on the industry-leading editing tools in Final Cut Pro Studio 3, it lets you edit in the Timeline or with the innovative Edit Overlay tool. Choose from a comprehensive set of edit options, including insert, overwrite, fit-to-fill, and more. To add clips, simply drag them into the Timeline. And thanks to a highly flexible interface, you can move seamlessly through your projects, focusing your efforts on creativity and productivity. 

Open format Timeline:

No need to worry about formats, frame rates, or conversions. Final Cut Express 4 provides an open format Timeline that accommodates DV (both NTSC and PAL) and HD footage. It even lets you edit clips from multiple formats in real time simultaneously.

Trimming:

Ready for more advanced editing tools? Working in the Timeline or a dedicated Trim window, fine-tune your edits with ripple, roll, slip, slide, extend, and shorten. These pro-level trimming tools, combined with the principles of three-point editing, let you experiment with complex variations and edits. That includes “L cuts,” where the audio and video start at different times.

Dynamic RT:

Dynamic RT provides real-time playback of multi stream effects. Adjusting image quality and frame rate on the fly for optimal playback, 

it scales performance as processing power increases. That means you can view multilayered high-definition video in real time — without waiting for previews to render.  

Multiple Layers:

WIth compositing — the technique of layering multiple video tracks to create visual effects — you can add a distinctive quality to your video projects. The compositing prowess of Final Cut Express 4 lets you create everything from simple title overlays and sophisticated multiple-stream video montages to dazzling picture-in-picture or side-by-side video effects. 

FxPlug plug-ins:

Out of the box, Final Cut Express 4 provides more than 200 transitions, filters, and effects. And since it supports FxPlug — the same plug-in architecture used in Final Cut Studio 3 — you have many more effect plug-ins to choose from. 

Keyframes:

Enjoy complete creative control of effects, transitions, and motion parameters with the fully adjustable keyframe markers in Final Cut Express. Use key framing to modify an effect, and you can save that modification as a favorite for use in other projects. 

Mix audio on multiple tracks:

Take advantage of the flexible audio tools built into Final Cut Express 4 to mix up to 99 audio tracks using pans, levels, and the three-band equalizer. Set keyframes on each audio track to adjust level and pan settings over the length of a clip. Import music from GarageBand and combine it with sound effects and voiceover to craft a complete multitrack audio mix. 

Adjust with audio filter:

Further enhance your audio with such included Audio Units filters as Reverb, EQ, Echo, and Delay. The new Soft Normalize and Gain feature analyzes sound clips, automatically raising clips to their maximum level without distortion. You can even adjust audio filters in real time, listening to your work in progress and modifying it as the track plays.  

Add a voiceover:

Creating a documentary? You’ll achieve professional results easily by using the Voice Over tool to record your narration. Final Cut Express 4 lets you create quick scratch tracks or add a voiceover track as your video plays. Besides offering a countdown cue, the new Voice Over tool records “before start” and “after stop,” providing handles for your recorded audio. 

Customizable effects:

Hundreds of preset animations and text effects let you create eye-popping animated titles in record time. Use them as is; customize them with fades, zooms, and motion; or develop your own. It’s easy — and fun. Once you achieve the desired result, save your new text effects for use in other projects.

 

LiveFonts:

LiveType 2 includes a breakthrough font technology: LiveFonts. Available only on the Mac, LiveFonts help you quickly and easily create spectacular text effects. LiveType comes with a wide assortment of LiveFonts, and you can add more professionally animated LiveFonts from third parties.  

 

Royalty-free content:

You receive more than 50 broadcast-quality animated textures and objects with LiveType — all royalty free. Easy to use, they let even non-animators create sophisticated titles. Your work looks absolutely professional, and you can do it yourself. Without busting your film budget. 

 

Timing is everything:

Powerful timing features let you control every aspect of your animation. By treating each character of a word as a separate layer, LiveType gives you the creative freedom to animate single letters, not just entire blocks of text.