FXhome ships HitFilm Pro 12.0 and HitFilm Express 12.0
Originally posted on 6 February 2018. Scroll down for news of the commercial release.
FXhome has unveiled HitFilm 12.0, the ‘biggest ever’ update to the editing, compositing, VFX and grading app, overhauling the UI and adding support for threaded rendering and GPU-based video decoding.
The Pro edition of the software also gets a new set of animation effects intended for motion graphics work, while the free Express edition gets support for Dolby AC3 audio.
The updates are available to pre-order and will become available later this month, alongside new versions of plugin collection Ignite and real-time motion path recording tool Action Pro.
More standard workflow, threaded rendering and GPU-accelerated video decoding
The release goes some way to standardising HitFilm’s previously rather idiosyncratic workflow, introducing a new universal menu bar in place of the old Project, Edit and Export tabs.
The interface also now supports native Windows behaviours and native Mac menus.
Under the hood, the software now uses separate CPU threads for rendering and drawing the interface, which should make the software much smoother to use while rendering.
GPU-accelerated decoding of video files is now also supported – at least on Nvidia and Intel hardware running under Windows – which should make playback and scrubbing more responsive.
Adjust composites or text directly in the editing timeline
The update also reduces the divide between HitFilm’s compositing and editing toolsets, making it possible to ‘publish’ a comp and have some properties remain editable inside the editor.
Artists can also use the Text tool natively in the editing timeline, making it possible to add titles to projects without having to switch back to the compositor.
Other workflow changes include the option to colour-code compositing layers or clips on the timeline.
New animated effects for motion graphics in the Pro edition
In addition, the Pro edition of the software gets “over 30” new effects to streamline the process of adding simple animations to objects, intended for motion graphics work.
The free Express edition now supports Dolby AC3 audio, previously only available via add-ons.
Other new features from recent updates
Since we last wrote about the software, FXhome has kept up a steady flow of updates – it’s gone from version 8.0 to 12.0 in under nine months – improving trimming workflow while editing and text rendering.
The Pro edition also got a new set of exposure, dehaze and glow effects, plus a distance field effect and Surface Studio, intended to give a metallic look to text.
Also due this month: Ignite 4.0 and Action Pro 1.0
Those new effects will now be available later this month in Ignite 4.0, the next version of FXhome’s plugin collection for other compositing and editing tools, including After Effects, Premiere Pro and Nuke.
Action Pro, FXhome’s work-in-progress tool for recording camera or animation paths for export to HitFilm Pro, will also get an update, officially moving out of beta.
As well as the option to draw paths with a mouse, the 1.0 release will make it possible to use the touchscreen of an iPad as an input device, via Action Pencil, a new companion iOS app.
The update will also add the option to import animation data in CSV format; and add a set of new tools and modifiers for editing animation paths after they have been recorded.
Updated 15 February 2019: HitFilm 12.0 and Ignite 4.0 are shipping. You can read FXhome’s blog post announcing the releases here.
Pricing and availability
HitFilm 12.0 is available 64-bit Windows 8+ and Mac OS X 10.11+.
The Express edition is free; the Pro edition costs $299, including 12 months of updates and support. You can find a feature comparison table for the two editions here.
Ignite 4.0 costs $199. Find a list of compatible applications here.
Finally, Action Pro 1.0 will ship later in February for 64-bit Windows 8+ and macOS 10.12+. It costs $99.
Read FXhome’s blog post announcing all of the new releases
Read a full list of new features in HitFilm Pro 12.0 in the online changelog
Read a full list of new features in HitFilm Express 12.0 in the online changelog
Read a full list of features in Action Pro 1.0 in the online changelog