Why everyone is so painfully wrong about FCPX

[Bruce Allen]

Well, I agree - though the last update 2 years ago wasn't much of an update. Most folks assumed Apple had been working on this for, oh, 4 years. And for 4 years of development it is suddenly revealed that they have a long way behind - more than anyone assumed.

Also, I am leery of some of the basic decisions they seem to have made. So far things don't seem well-thought-through for collaborative editing, for example.

This looks like a nice integrated app that might evolve into something awesome. But the track record for starting from scratch is not good:

Autodesk Toxik - new, beautiful code from scratch... amazing ideas... but missing major features at launch = killed by Nuke
Softimage XSI - new, beautiful code from scratch... wonderful stuff... but missing major features at launch = killed by Maya
Netscape Navigator... Quattro Pro... OS/2...
http://www.joelonsoftware.com/articl...000000069.html

I personally used ALL of these apps - and was honestly sad to see them beaten by less innovative but more pragmatic options!

My day job is movie trailers - lots of Maya, After Effects etc for the graphics. When Motion came on the scene Apple were over here (as in - the actual guys) and there was much excitement and purchasing. We were all like "well version 1.0 has issues but look at the architecture and possibilities!" - but to this day Apple never really added the features we needed. To this day they have still not caught up with After Effects. I'm a little afraid the same thing will happen with FCP X.

So the main thing for me is not the missing features per se - but the fact that it's mid-2011. Seriously, if you go back to 2007 or so - who would have predicted that Apple would still not have implemented R3D support by now in their Pro editor - and that they'd be only on version 1 of their rewrite? The fact is that they're very late - and they've been riding on expectations for years.

Bruce Allen
www.boacinema.com

[Mondo Ghulam]

I've been using FCPX for a couple of days and I don't think I want to edit any other way now.

It is FAST on my MBPro, no transcoding of DSLR footage, faster playback and scrubbing of said footage than Premiere 5.5 on the same system (and that was pretty good). Not forgetting of course the interface, which makes everything else feel dated and imprecise.

It is a completely closed system in this release and I'll pick my projects withit carefully. I need to spend more time with the colour corrector but working with Soundtrack and it, will be the same for me. In the context of this forum, no Red support means it's not for many of the folks here. I can understand the chagrin that some are feeling and if interoperability is a requirement, this is not the release for you unfortunately.

If it never changes from this release, it'd be a real shame, as it is a blinding piece of design and feels great to use.

[Kalani Prince]

I wonder how many times they jumped over to the iMovie code for a quick copy/paste ; )

[Jeremy Neish]

Emery: AMEN! Too many luddites here and elsewhere.

Those that are saying it's iMovie Pro have obviously never used iMovie. Though there is undoubtedly some iMovie code in it, FCPx is WAY WAY more.

I for one welcome disruptive leaps forward in technology. That's why I bought the first RED in Utah in 2007, and it's the reason I bought the first Video Toaster in Utah in 1990. Bring on the future! I love breaking in new technologies and figuring out ways around the limitations.

Let's flip the scenario around, what if Apple had waited another year tell everybody about their re-write of FCP? Can you imagine the howls of "Apple doesn't care about Pro" "FCP is dead", blah blah. I'm personally thrilled they let us work with a version that still needs some feature added. I'd much rather be in that boat then waiting around another year wondering if FCP is dead.

Thank you Apple for your continuing support of the professional video industry!

Now you just need to change your mind about killing off DVD-SP. We use it daily and I had some great ideas for the next version. Give me a ring, we'll chat. :)

[Christopher Grant Harvey]

I hate the new timeline, I find it slower than the "old" way. What was so wrong with a timeline?

Is there a way to totally turn of the magnetic snapping crap on the timeline so I can place clips where I want them to go?

[Thomas Koch]

I don't think they started with a blank Xcode file. I think they looked at iMovie and said,
"how can we charge $300 for that?"

[Mondo Ghulam]

I hate the new timeline, I find it slower than the "old" way. What was so wrong with a timeline?

Is there a way to totally turn of the magnetic snapping crap on the timeline so I can place clips where I want them to go?

'N' turns of snapping. 'A' allows me to move clips within the master timeline, 'P' - Position will let you move a clip anywhere but it will extend the main timeline to include the new positoin.

[Terry VerHaar]

I think all the FCPX criticism is very curious (i.e. obnoxious). What people fail to realize is this is an entirely new product written from a blank sheet in XCode. Roughly 2 years ago someone at Apple did the following:

1. Launched Xcode
2. File > New Project
3. Stared at a blank white screen

Naturally, you cannot recreate 15 years of development in 2 years and your version 1 app is going to be missing features. What apple has done with FCPX is actually really incredible. It is the most feature rich and professional V1 editorial application the world has ever seen. Does it address the needs of the working professional that deals with online/offline workflows, digital cinema, and large collaborative workflows? No. But that's also the SMALLEST group of FCP users. The VAST majority of FCP users cut by themselves, have no idea what an EDL/XML is, and could care less about tape I/O. Apple knew that V1 of the new FCP would be missing features and they decided to leave out features that would affect the smallest group of users which also happens to be their highest end users. Was this a mistake? Arguable but I don't think it was. I think Apples biggest mistake is failing to communicate to their most passionate and vocal users. They needed to communicate that they know FCP doesn't address all our needs today but that it is in our best interest to hang on and give them more time to flesh out the higher end feature set. So many of Apples products have followed a similar history. When they switched from OS9 to OSX they made a big leap forward while leaving out beloved features that so many OS9 users needed everyday. Some of those features made it back into OSX over time and some of them did not but no one is complaining they want OS9 back.

FCP 7 was the OS9 of editorial apps. It was built on a painfully old architecture and required to much work to salvage. Apple HAD to take this leap if they wanted to continue to stay relevant in the editorial market. FCP was looking like a joke compared to MC and Premiere. It's foundation was old and they needed to start over. The new FCP is based on AV Foundation which is shared with, gasp, iMovie and iOS. Guess what? The old iMovie was based on Quicktime just like FCP but I didn't hear anyone making that comparison then. AV Foundation is Apples next generation framework for doing advanced audio/video Applications. Ask any developer out there which framework they prefer working with, Quicktime or AV Foundation.

In short, Apple has made a mistake by not communicating with it's users and unfortunately, I do not see that changing anytime soon. The good news is, for all of us Pro users, we still have FCP 7, Premiere Pro, and Media Composer. Premiere Pro is essentially free as it comes with the Creative Suite, and MC is more affordable than ever. We all get to continue to use these great products while we sit back and watch how FCPX develops over the next 2 years. Hell, we can even try running the odd project or two through FCPX to take advantage of all the new great editorial features. Ya know, the features that actually help you tell a story (i.e. editing).

+10

[Joseph Mastantuono]

I think that Apple has responded to editors through their High Priest (NY Times consumer electronics writer) David Pogue is very telling and hilarious.

http://pogue.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/...nal-cut-pro-x/

Then again, the writing's been on the wall for a while, but it's still shocking when the coup finally happens.

Also, anyone that talks about "Storytelling" or uses the line "We're here to tell stories, stories are what's important" in a sales pitch is not to be trusted.

[Stefan Antonescu]

I hate the new timeline, I find it slower than the "old" way. What was so wrong with a timeline?

Is there a way to totally turn of the magnetic snapping crap on the timeline so I can place clips where I want them to go?

'N' turns of snapping. 'A' allows me to move clips within the master timeline, 'P' - Position will let you move a clip anywhere but it will extend the main timeline to include the new positoin.

http://www.fcp.co/final-cut-pro/arti...inal-cut-pro-x

6. Magnetic Timeline. Can I turn that off please?



Yes you can. Select the new Position Tool; this effectively turns off the magnetic timeline and allows you to move clips and create gap clips. I guess this kind of replaces the functionality of the track tool. (Fans of the razor blade note you have not been forsaken.)



Above is a “gap clip”.