Most editing software packages can cost more money than your average home video hobbyist is willing to pay. They are usually several hundred dollars, have many more features than you would need for your simple home projects, and require too much from your family computer. Put plainly, they are just too big in every sense. On the same level, programs like iMovie may not give you quite enough power to do the kind of editing you would like to. This is one of the reasons that Apple released Final Cut Express.
Final Cut Express is labeled as the “consumer” version of Final Cut Pro, which is touted as a professional program and carries a hefty $1,299 price tag. Final Cut Express, clocking in at only $199, is designed to do most of the same functions as Final Cut Pro, minus a few bells and whistles. You do not get the associated programs in the Final Cut Pro suite, like DVD Studio Pro and Soundtrack Pro, and you are also missing the database Cinema Tools as well. Along with these, Batch Capture, multi-cam editing, and a viewable Timecode are all gone. These are a small loss when compared to the price, which is over a thousand dollars cheaper. Beyond a few missing elements Final Cut Express runs the same as Final Cut Pro. You still have some associated programs with it, like Soundtrack 1.5 and a decreased version of Live Type so you can create animated text. You are able to do many types of effects and color corrections (not quite as many as Final Cut Pro), you have the same Timeline editing tools, and you can even get into High Definition video. One tool that the new version of Final Cut Express has that Final Cut Pro does not have is that it allows you to import projects from iMovie into it, so if you are already working on a digital video project and you purchase Final Cut Express, you can just jump in head first.
Apple is trying to make Final Cut, whether it is Pro or Express, the standard for Apple computers. When iMovie ’08 was released it had significantly less features than previous incarnations, while Final Cut Express had more and the price had been reduced from $299 to $199. With this type of bargain there really is no reason to just settle for iMovie any more. Though the technical specifications list Final Cut Express as having the same base system requirements as Final Cut Pro, it is still not as big as the professional program and there are not as many large associated programs so you will not need to go much higher than the base requirements. This lightweight software is great on the go for laptop video editing, as well as a home computer that is used for a variety of functions. Now you have the option to do most the edits you need without making the huge kind of commitment that is required with most high-scale editing suites.