The upgraded plug-in speeds up post-production throughput by removing the need for FCPX Operators to use an external color grading application for advanced color grading tools.
Color Finale, the macOS-only colour grading plug-in for Final Cut Pro X (FCPX) from the UK company Color Trix, has been superseded by Color Finale 2 and Color Finale 2 Pro, priced at $99 and $149 respectively.
Color Finale 2 and Color Finale 2 Pro are macOS-only upgrades to the Color Finale FCPX plug-in, adding a host of new color grading and image processing tools above the standard color grading tools that ship with FCPX.
Many of the new Color Finale 2 tools are normally found on high-end stand-alone colour grading systems. The new Color Finale 2 toolset has been specifically designed to simplify the workflow between editing and colour grading, removing the need for editors to move themselves and their content to an external dedicated colour grading system.
The features of the Color Finale 2 includes Masking (shape based and free form keying for selective color grading), Area Tracker (track masks on moving picture elements), Film Emulation Tools (add customisable digital grain), and Shot Matching toolset, (semi-automate primary color correction for shot matching).
It also features LUT Manager (auto-locate, live preview, and export of LUTs and Presets), Modern Sharpening algorithm (enhance perception of focus in soft areas of shots) and Video Analysis Tools (locate and correct technical image anomalies).
The release of Color Finale 2 is the first stage of an expansion plan that will see the company launch additional advanced colour grading and image processing plug-in products in 2020.
Commenting on the upgrade, Mike Grieve, Commercial Director at Color Trix, said: “Our belief is that the industry needs new colour grading workflows to deliver the speed, efficiency, and the creative variety, required in today’s fast turn-around post-production marketplace. The tools we’ve added into Color Finale 2 are the same as those found on high-end stand-alone colour grading systems, meaning that for the first time FCPX users no longer need to export or ‘round-trip’ projects to a third party color grading system, with all the complexities this involves.”
