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Final Cut is a family of non-linear video editing software produced by Apple Inc. for their Mac OS and OS X platforms. It allows users to ingest, log, edit, process and export media in a range of formats. Final Cut developed a large customer base, primarily made up of hobbyist and independent filmmakers. By 2007, it was used by 49% of the professional editors in the United States, overtaking the 22% share of Avid Technology's Media Composer, the traditional favourite. A 2008 study found that 21% of American Cinema Editors Guild members used Final Cut Pro. In 2011, all earlier versions of Final Cut were discontinued and succeeded by Final Cut Pro X.

History
Randy Ubillos created the first three versions of Adobe Premiere, the first popular digital video editing application. Before version 5 was released, Ubillos' group was hired by Macromedia to create KeyGrip, built from the ground up as a more professional video-editing program based on Apple QuickTime. Macromedia could not release the product without causing its partner Truevision some issues with Microsoft, as KeyGrip was, in part, based on technology from Microsoft licensed to Truevision and then in turn to Macromedia. The terms of the IP licensing deal stated that it was not to be used in conjunction with QuickTime. Thus, Macromedia was forced to keep the product off the market until a solution could be found. At the same time, the company decided to focus more on applications that would support the web, so they sought to find a buyer for their non-web applications, including KeyGrip, which by 1998 was renamed Final Cut.

Final Cut was shown in private room demonstrations as a 0.9 alpha at the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) exposition in 1998 after Macromedia pulled out of the main show floor. At the demonstration, both Mac and Windows versions were shown. The Mac version was working with a Truevision RTX dual stream real time card with limited real time effects. When no purchaser could be found, Apple purchased the team as a defensive move. When Apple could not find a buyer in turn, it continued development work, focusing on adding FireWire/DV support and introduced Final Cut Pro at NAB 1999.

In order that Final Cut Pro would be supported from the beginning with third-party self-paced and instructor-led training, Apple worked with DVcreators.net, who released a training disc called "Final Cut Pro PowerStart" at NAB on the day Final Cut Pro was released. Apple worked with DVcreators.net to host hundreds of free and paid Final Cut Pro seminars and workshops in 60 cities in the U.S., Canada and other countries over the following years, a strategy that some feel fundamentally contributed to Final Cut Pro's early awareness in the marketplace and rise in market share.

After the introduction of Final Cut Pro, Adobe Premiere's market share remained strong on Windows but began to decline on the Mac as its older codebase was more difficult to maintain. In 2003, Apple announced a program for Premiere users to trade in their discs for a free copy of Final Cut Express or a $500 discount on Final Cut Pro.

Final Cut Pro benefited from the relative maturity of QuickTime and its native support for then-new DV cameras connected with FireWire (IEEE1394).

The first fully Broadcast quality, Worldwide Distributed TV show produced on Final Cut Pro was 2000's WOW! Women of Wrestling, using the Pinnacle CinéWave uncompressed video card. The Oxygen Network was a beta site for Final Cut Pro in late 1999 through network launch in early 2000. Shows like ShE-Commerce were cut using FCP.

In late 2001, the studio motion picture The Rules of Attraction was edited on beta versions of Final Cut Pro 3, proving to the film industry that successful 3:2 pulldown matchback to 24fps could be achieved with a "consumer" off-the-shelf product. Roger Avary, the film's director became the spokesperson for Final Cut Pro, appearing in print advertisements worldwide. His advocacy of the product gave confidence to mainstream editors such as Walter Murch, that the product was ready for "prime time."

In August 2002, the application won a Primetime Emmy Engineering Award for its impact on the television industry.

Final Cut Pro 4 was announced in April 2003. It included three new applications: Compressor, used for the transcoding between video formats; LiveType for advanced titling (such as the creation of animated lower thirds); and Soundtrack, for royalty-free music soundtrack creation. It also bundled Cinema Tools, which was previously sold separately for filmmakers working with telecine.

Also in 2003, Apple launched Final Cut Express, a less expensive version of Final Cut Pro. It uses the same interface as Final Cut Pro, but it lacks some of the film-specific tools and other advanced options, limiting the feature set for non-professional editors. In January 2005, Soundtrack and LiveType, previously only available with Final Cut Pro, were added to Express, and features were added to edit HDV. Soundtrack was subsequently removed with Final Cut Express 4. In June 2011, Final Cut Express was officially discontinued, in favor of Final Cut Pro X.

In April 2004, version 4.5 of Final Cut Pro was introduced and branded by Apple as "Final Cut Pro HD" due to its native support for Panasonic's tape-based DVCPRO HD format for compressed 720p and 1080i HD over FireWire. (The software had been capable of uncompressed HD editing since version 3.0, but at the time had required expensive video cards and high speed storage.)

Final Cut Pro 5 was announced at a pre-NAB event in April, and shipped in May 2005. Final Cut Pro 5 added support for the burgeoning HDV format for compressed HD, which had previously been supported in Final Cut Pro's "scaled-down" cousin, Final Cut Express. Final Cut Pro 5 also added support for Panasonic's P2 format for the recording of DVCPRO HD video to memory cards rather than tape.

In January 2006, Apple stopped selling Final Cut Pro as a stand-alone product. In March 2006 the Universal Binary 5.1 version was released as part of Final Cut Studio. Upgrades were achieved by sending the original installation discs back to Apple with a fee. One noticeable difference is that the Intel versions of Final Cut and Motion no longer recognize After Effects plug-ins. Instead, Apple released its own universal plug-in architecture FxPlug.

On April 15, 2007, Apple revealed Final Cut Pro 6.0, as the cornerstone of the Final Cut Studio 2 bundle. Once again, Apple did not have a booth at NAB 2009, however the product was well represented on the show floor in various booths. The RED Camera team relied heavily on FCP during development.

On July 23, 2009, Final Cut Pro 7/Final Cut Studio 3 (not officially designated as such by Apple but adopted by most users to describe the 2009 changes) was released, but it was not yet a 64-bit application.

Final Cut Pro X was announced on April 12, 2011 and released on June 21. It is a 64-bit application completely rebuilt with a new interface, workflow enhancements and automation, and new features such as ColorSync integration, resolution independent playback system, system scaling with Core Animation, and more. The three apps, 'Color,' 'Soundtrack Pro,' and 'DVD Studio Pro' were dropped, while Motion 5 along with Compressor 4 were released onto the Mac App Store.

Final Cut Pro X
Final Cut Pro X (pronounced "Final Cut Pro Ten") is a video production suite for OS X from Apple Inc. and the successor to Final Cut Pro. FCP X was announced in April 2011 simultaneously at the Los Angeles Final Cut Pro Users Group held at Bally's Las Vegas and at the NAB Show in the Las Vegas Convention Center and released in June 2011.

Final Cut Studio
Final Cut Studio is a professional video and audio production suite and a direct competitor to Avid Media Composer in the high-end movie production industry. It is now only available to purchase through Apple's 1-800 number, therefore not online or in Apple Stores.

Final Cut Server
Final Cut Server was a server-based backend for managing Final Cut Studio files (in particular Final Cut Pro) and workflow automation, based on Proximity's artbox package. Final Cut Server can catalogue any file type and allows for the addition of custom metadata to make those files searchable. Final Cut Server runs on Apple hardware but the server is accessed through a Java client that runs on PCs and Macs. In addition to Java, Final Cut Server makes heavy use of the QuickTime framework and requires its installation when used with PC clients.

Final Cut Express
Final Cut Express was a video editing software suite, now discontinued, created by Apple Inc. It was the consumer version of Final Cut Pro and was designed for advanced editing of digital video as well as high-definition video, which was used by many amateur and professional videographers. Final Cut Express was considered a step above iMovie in terms of capabilities, but a step underneath Final Cut Pro and its suite of applications. As of June 21, 2011, Final Cut Express was discontinued, in favor of Final Cut Pro X.

Integration with other software
Stuff about LiveType, Motion, Color, Shake, etc.

Reception
Reception overview here.

Final Cut Pro X
This is the biggest change, and really needs its own section.

Industry use
Some films it's been used to create, along with information on usage in industrial settings, and the rise in popularity of Premier Pro.