Final Cut Summit Recap | Best Tips, What Happened at Apple and More

[rand thompson]

BY
Jenn Jager Pro Tutorials

 

[rand thompson]

Final Cut Pro Global Summit • Sharing My Thoughts & Answering Questions!​

By
Dylan Bates • The Final Cut Bro

 

[Brian Timmons]

Final Cut Pro 10.7 & The FCP Creative Summit. The BIG Show - What Else Is There!​

By
RichardTaylorTV

 

[Brian Timmons]

The site FCP.cafe has also listed a few articles about the Creative Summit.

Latest News

FCP Cafe is a community for professional Final Cut Pro editors and developers.

fcp.cafe

My biggest takeaway is:

1) The new features in 10.7 are somewhat sparse but very well implemented.

2) There seems to be renewed enthusiasm behind 10.7 where it's viewed as
the beginning of a next chapter in FCP development.
3) Spatial editing was already stated as being in an upcoming version of FCP slated for next year.
This will likely tie in to Apple Vision Pro.
4) There was a Q&A with the FCP team that sounds somewhat off the record where Creative Summit attendees could query members of the FCP/Pro apps team but not publish the exact response given by them.

In response to a question asked specifically if FCP was going to have a similar fate to Apple's discontinued Aperture photo app, the FCP team allegedly mentioned having a roadmap for FCP that extends for the next 5 years and that they
are fully behind developing it.

It was also stated that Apple is releasing FCP/Pro Apps updates on their own time schedule based on when they feel features are ready to be released.

Brian Timmons
BRITIM/MEDIA

 

[rand thompson]

I remember back in my Avid media Composer/ Discrete Combustion days, that Apple had "The VFX App "Shake". I was thinking about using Shake when I was trying out Final Cut Pro Studio however Apple discontinued Shake. I believe Shake used Nodes similar to Resolve's Fusion which is kinda funny when I think about that now.

Hopefully Apple will be truthful to their word and keep Final Cut Pro Competitive with all of the other NLE's out there. Maybe the Spatial Editing you mentioned will even give it an advantage.

 

[Brian Timmons]

I remember back in my Avid media Composer/ Discrete Combustion days, that Apple had "The VFX App "Shake". I was thinking about using Shake when I was trying out Final Cut Pro Studio however Apple discontinued Shake. I believe Shake used Nodes similar to Resolve's Fusion which is kinda funny when I think about that now.

Hopefully Apple will be truthful to their word and keep Final Cut Pro Competitive with all of the other NLE's out there. Maybe the Spatial Editing you mentioned will even give it an advantage.

Yeah- Didn't Shake go from like $20k to $500 when it was discontinued. I could be remembering wrong.

I think Apple's mindset was different then.

TBH, I think Apple's thinking then was more in line with where BMD
is now with Resolve where there was an attempt to make the FCP Studio more of an "everything" post-production app with a feature and design implementation similar to high end specialist workflows (i.e incorporating, Fairlight, Fusion).

I think Apple currently has a different approach where there is an attempt to balance FCP (and other video Pro apps)
to be simple and easy to use while delivering pro features where they feel it makes sense.
In this way FCP appeals greatly to "production generalists" (content creators, multi-role filmmakers, social media ) as well as pure editors and less to specialists (Colorists, mixers, VFX, or those that aspire to those areas).
The higher end and more specialized workflows and features are being left to 3rd parties via plugins.

For the most part the strategy works but for some it leaves FCP feeling thin on features compared to other NLEs.

12 years after the release of FCP X I'm glad that it feels like a lean and healthy app.
Apple has done a good job keeping the code up to date and avoiding feature bloat.
I also like that Apple seems to take a very measured and deliberate approach to the feature set
and how it fits in with the total app.
They seem to be really deeply curating requested features and implementing them after rounds of internal deliberation.

There is now talk of FCP being an app that exist beyond the desktop version with the new FCP for iPad
and a potential version for Vision Pro.

Avid and Premiere are chugging along and seem to be developing the app more in line with maintaining the existing user base. I always will have respect for Avid as an NLE OG of sorts not to mention in an earlier life I've spent several hours (sometimes stressful ones) staring at that interface.

BMD is clearly the most ambitious in terms of their feature implementation and release schedule but I'm mixed on how well
features are executed in the app in general.
I sometimes feel like BMD rushes some functionality more to check boxes off than with a full roadmap or vision for the overall app. I also get the impression of Resolve is it seems to be getting slowly pulled in the direction of being a high end specialist app while trying to appeal to lower end generalist sensibilities like FCP.

FCP is still my editing app of choice but it has fallen behind the other major NLEs in key features like collaborative editing
and speech to text/text based editing among other areas.
I do think Apple will deliver "Pro" features but must concede that their idea of "Pro" might be different from the rest of the industry.
I do remember seeing a job listing for a Pro Apps engineering position a couple of years ago for something that sounded like collaborative editing so who knows.
Hopefully the features will get added a little quicker. I can definitely use the text based tools for some doc work.

Brian Timmons
BRITIM/MEDIA

 

[rand thompson]

Brian,

That's still one of the things I hate the most about Davinci Resolve, 15 to 20 new features in one Version then 20 to 30 things it had to "ADDRESS" in the next version.

Like in an earlier version of Davinci Resolve, I could have multiple versions of the ACES Workgroup "ACES 2.0 Candidate" ODTs in the same ACES ODT folder in Resolve then only one could be used and stored there. Plus I can't remember how many times I would have made a specific color Correction in one version of Resolve only for it to change almost completely when I updated to the most recent version with no identified reason in the list of new updates.


But overall I learned to NEVER update Davinci Resolve in the middle of a project or you will regret !

FCP seems like you say to be more reserved in their updates and the number of updates they push out on a regular basis.

 

[Brian Timmons]

Brian,

That's still one of the things I hate the most about Davinci Resolve, 15 to 20 new features in one Version then 20 to 30 things it had to "ADDRESS" in the next version.

Like in an earlier version of Davinci Resolve, I could have multiple versions of the ACES Workgroup "ACES 2.0 Candidate" ODTs in the same ACES ODT folder in Resolve then only one could be used and stored there. Plus I can't remember how many times I would have made a specific color Correction in one version of Resolve only for it to change almost completely when I updated to the most recent version with no identified reason in the list of new updates.


But overall I learned to NEVER update Davinci Resolve in the middle of a project or you will regret !

FCP seems like you say to be more reserved in their updates and the number of updates they push out on a regular basis.

Kind of surprised that corrections can change across different versions of Resolve.
I didn't notice but I'm not exactly in and out of it everyday and don't often open older projects in it.

It's a good idea to not update any software during a show. I'm still on FCP 10.6.5 which is about a year old though I may have a window between projects to update soon.
I remember in the broadcast post production world it was not uncommon to see post houses with versions of Avid Media Composer that were 2-5 years old.

Regarding Resolve, I think some of these shortcomings are a symptom of BMD's development approach or perhaps corporate culture.
Even with their cameras and video gear I sometimes feel like the ideas and implementation is good, even inspired but not always thought through or refined past a few drafts.
The cameras in particular can really have this issue particularly with ergonomics.

It's one of the areas that you can experience the difference between holding a BMD camera and a RED.
I must say thought that there are exceptions where I did have to handhold an Ursa Mini 4.6k for a several hours on a few shoots and have to admit it did balance quite well. The pocket cinema cameras though......not good.

BMD have their idiosyncrasies like any other entity and I still applaud where they have taken Resolve.
For better or for worse, Resolve feels like what Final Cut Pro 8 or 9 would have potentially become if they stayed the traditional track route of the original Final Cut Pro.

I suppose Final Cut Pro X feels exactly like what a trackless alien alternate universe version of Final Cut Pro would feel like (again for better and worse though IMO greatly for the better).

Brian Timmons
BRITIM/MEDIA

 

[Karim D. Ghantous]

But overall I learned to NEVER update Davinci Resolve in the middle of a project or you will regret !

I dare say that this should be true for all software, including the OS. Just as a precaution.

Edit: I will one day watch the documentary made about FCPX.

 

[rand thompson]

I dare say that this should be true for all software, including the OS. Just as a precaution.

Edit: I will one day watch the documentary made about FCPX.

When I was on the Mac about 13 or 14 years ago, I thought Final Cut Studio with the following components:


Final Cut Pro 7 – "real-time editing for DV, SD and HD"
Motion – "real-time motion graphics design"
Soundtrack Pro – "advanced audio editing and sound design"
DVD Studio Pro – encoding, authoring and burning.
Color – a new color grading application adapted from Silicon Color's FinalTouch.
Compressor – a video encoding tool for outputting projects in different formats.
Cinema Tools – tools specific to film processing.
Qmaster – a distributed processing tool.


was better integrated than the Included Avid Media Composer equivalent third-party components . So I left Avid Media Composer for a while, but eventually came back because I just couldn't love the Final Cut Pro workflow. I think if I would have used Final Cut Pro before I learned how to use Axid Media Composer, I probably would be a Final Cut Pro "Guy" today. But Davinci Resolve changed all of that.

 

[Brian Timmons]

When I was on the Mac about 13 or 14 years ago, I thought Final Cut Studio with the following components:


Final Cut Pro 7 – "real-time editing for DV, SD and HD"
Motion – "real-time motion graphics design"
Soundtrack Pro – "advanced audio editing and sound design"
DVD Studio Pro – encoding, authoring and burning.
Color – a new color grading application adapted from Silicon Color's FinalTouch.
Compressor – a video encoding tool for outputting projects in different formats.
Cinema Tools – tools specific to film processing.
Qmaster – a distributed processing tool.


was better integrated than the Included Avid Media Composer equivalent third-party components . So I left Avid Media Composer for a while, but eventually came back because I just couldn't love the Final Cut Pro workflow. I think if I would have used Final Cut Pro before I learned how to use Axid Media Composer, I probably would be a Final Cut Pro "Guy" today. But Davinci Resolve changed all of that.

Yes Resolve is definitely the heir to the Final Cut Studio philosophy in that sense. They even went a step further by integrating those components into one app.
Technologically the Adobe Creative suite also achieved perhaps birthed the idea of a suite of complimentary media products but their switch to subscription is hard to overlook. It's digital serfdom for the masses.

Brian Timmons
BRITIM/MEDIA

 

[rand thompson]

One of the reasons I left Avid was because one month of using Avid Media Composer since version 2.5 some online hacker had acessed by credit card info and with the security from my bank, it froze my card. I informed Avid of this 5 days before my subscription payment was due as to not lose the special subscription rate I had had for years . I had gotten a lower that normal subscription fee due to a friend whom also used Avid Media Composer whom had used it for years and years before I started to use it.

I finally got my Credit Card straightened out exactly one day after my subscription was due and do you know those Sons of bitches raised the rate I had been paying for years by almost double, even though I had informed them ahead of time of the problem.

I thought Avid Media Composer was getting a little "Long In the Tooth" anyway by then so I said fuck it, paid off the remainder of my subscription, purchased one the extra Davinci Resolve Studio dongles from another friend for half price ($500, Resolve Studio was a $1000 back then) and I never look back at Avid Media Composer again for anything other that to test new version Demos which were still "outdated IMHO".

 

[Brian Timmons]

One of the reasons I left Avid was because one month of using Avid Media Composer since version 2.5 some online hacker had acessed by credit card info and with the security from my bank, it froze my card. I informed Avid of this 5 days before my subscription payment was due as to not lose the special subscription rate I had had for years . I had gotten a lower that normal subscription fee due to a friend whom also used Avid Media Composer whom had used it for years and years before I started to use it.

I finally got my Credit Card straightened out exactly one day after my subscription was due and do you know those Sons of bitches raised the rate I had been paying for years by almost double, even thought I had informed them ahead of time of the problem.

I thought Avid Media Composer was getting a little "Long In the Tooth" anyway by then so I said fuck it, paid off the remainder of my subscription, purchased one the extra Davinci Resolve Studio dongles from another friend for half price ($500, Resolve Studio was a $1000 back then) and I never look back at Avid Media Composer again for anything other that to test new version Demos which were still "outdated IMHO".

Man that's screwed up.
Were you able to follow up with the Avid rep you talked to about the CC situation after they changed the rate?
Granted Avid does at least offer purchasing Media Composer but that kind of treatment is a sure way to lose good will and customers.

I have no issue with purchasing upgrades but I was never a fan of subscription rentals particularly for major tools of the craft like editing software.
Ownership is equity.

Brian Timmons
BRITIM/MEDIA

 

[rand thompson]

Brian,


Yeah I tried to speak to the same Rep I had spoken to about the situation, but surprisingly no one knew anything about it. I think back then with the third party addons, it was about $2499 for Avid Media Composer if I remember correctly. So the subscription was the only way I was going to use Avid Media Composer back then. The $500 I paid for the Davinci Resolve Studio Version 12.5 Dongle from a buddy which was $999 back then was a steal. I am still using it now.

 

[Brian Timmons]

Brian,


Yeah I tried to speak to the same Rep I had spoken to about the situation, but surprisingly no one knew anything about it. I think back then with the third party addons, it was about $2499 for Avid Media Composer if I remember correctly. So the subscription was the only way I was going to use Avid Media Composer back then. The $500 I paid for the Davinci Resolve Studio Version 12.5 Dongle from a buddy which was $999 back then was a steal. I am still using it now.

Yeah- i forgot MC cost that much.
Yes- Resolve ultimately ended up as a much better move particularly with it being a single cost spread over several years.

Between being so entrenched into studio workflows, familiarity with veteran editors, and perhaps ties within the unions there are not many technological benefits with Avid.
It’s kind of the the mainframe of the post world.

Brian Timmons
BRITIM/MEDIA

 

[rand thompson]

Yeah,

Plus I think with the last demo versions I've tried, you still have to "Link To" or "Consolidate" any raw codec clips into Avid. Final Cut Pro 7 allowed you to use the Raw codecs back then natively, which was another reason I tried Final Cut Pro out. Plus how long did it take avid to support Higher than HD and to go from DNxHD to DNxHR

I mean here it is 2023 and you still have to link to Red Raw and some other Raw codecs. The excuse back then and I still think today was because of Avid Media Composer selling point of it's superior Media Management in relation to other NLEs, it had to operate that way or something along those lines.

 

[Steve Sherrick]

FCP has been my go to NLE for years now. Started on Avid, went to FCP 7 (while still using Avid) when I had my home edit suite, and then FCPX when I finally decided to get over my stubbornness of learning trackless workflow. To me, even despite some of the pro features it was lacking, it is just a very fast NLE to work with once you get the hang of it. And it has some amazing metadata tools. But, over the last 3-4 years I find I've had a lot more problems using it. I can't prove this but I feel that Apple has begun the push to eliminate spinning hard drives from their ecosystem. Which is a valid thing to want to eventually, but many of us still use those spinning hard drives, especially in RAID configurations. At some point, I feel like FCP just started to get laggy/buggy if using them in my workflow, while SSD drives seem to have much less issues and the program seems snappier. These days I'm having to use Adobe CC due to collaborative team I am working with that uses it. But I don't like Adobe's pay to play subscription model even though where it sits currently is very affordable for professionals. And Resolve I have used for years for color grading and dailies. But, here is my gripe with all of them...

If you use multiple tools to get your work done and they all reside on one machine, I fell like it's very easy to fall into the update/upgrade madness that has permeated the software industry. It's so easy to deliver software to your computer that companies are able to put out new versions as often as they want, packed with new features. While that sounds great in theory, what I have found is that it translates to buggy software that then gets updated (yes sometimes quickly) but may fix those problems and cause news ones. And at the same time, you are dealing with OS updates that also add shiny new features, but then break things as well. So what you end up with is version chasing. And I have found the only way to have any chance to combat this is to stay a version or two behind. That includes OS and software packages. It doesn't always work out perfectly that way (sometimes you have to have a new feature to actually get a job done) but that's been my strategy. I also utilize the ability to partition boot drive so that I can have a different OS/software versions that don't interfere with my main apps that are hopefully in a state of reliability at that moment. It can be challenging. Especially when it comes to collaborating with others on the same project. A lot of people see an update become available and immediately hit the update button, potentially screwing up the collaboration when the new version has problems. A key example of that would be something like Adobe Productions. I try to get everyone to stay on same version of Premiere while a project is ongoing. But sometimes people hit the button or they have automatic updates set to on.

Another thing to keep an eye on in the future is the health of these companies. As creatives, we build our toolset for getting projects done, often taking for granted that the companies making these tools might not be around forever or might shift their priorities at some point. For example, Avid being bought recently by a strategic investment firm, while on the surface nothing seems to have changed, behind the scenes a lot could be changing. Apple could decide at some point that further development of FCP doesn't make sense for them or completely change the product on a whim. Adobe, realizing that their internal costs have skyrocketed, could suddenly start charging triple the monthly subscription cost which could impact a lot of people and leave them with an inability to get access to their projects if they are not able to keep up with the subscription costs. Blackmagic seems like one of the more stable companies, but what if suddenly they started to see a major drop in their hardware sales? Does Resolve remain free, does Studio remain at $300? None of these companies are bulletproof. And the impact that a major change could have on your daily workflow could be very significant. For example, I have thousands of dollars invested in FCP 3rd party plugins/extensions, same with Pro Tools and Resolve. If Apple, Avid, or Blackmagic suddenly left the scene, eventually this would impact me.

We live in the best of times and the worst of times.

 

[rand thompson]

Steve,

That was a very insightful very well thought out post, I wish I could be more insightful at times. I tried or used Avid Media Composer (with After Effects with Automatic Duck way back when and Baselight for Avid more recently), Discreet Combustion, Adobe Premiere (especially with After Effects that included Color Finesse back in the day), Vegas and of course Davinci Resolve.

I want to go back to the Mac for alot of reasons one being to use Filmlight's "Baselight Look" which mirrors the actual interface and tools of the much more expensive Turnkey systems than Baselight for Avid does. Baselight Look will also get the same Version 6.0 updates as the Turnkey systems will get when it becomes available.

I think you kinda have to be a Jack of all NLEs and Color Managed Workflows in this day and age. You don't won't to get caught flat footed when certain opportunities make themselves available but you can't take advantage of those opportunities because you lack the knowledge to do so.

Companies will always do what's best for their bottom line, if that benefits their customers great, if not well the customers be damned.

 

[Steve Sherrick]

Steve,

That was a very insightful very well thought out post, I wish I could be more insightful at times. I tried or used Avid Media Composer (with After Effects with Automatic Duck way back when and Baselight for Avid more recently), Discreet Combustion, Adobe Premiere (especially with After Effects that included Color Finesse back in the day), Vegas and of course Davinci Resolve.

I want to go back to the Mac for alot of reasons one being to use Filmlight's "Baselight Look" which mirrors the actual interface and tools of the much more expensive Turnkey systems than Baselight for Avid does. Baselight Look will also get the same Version 6.0 updates as the Turnkey systems will get when it becomes available.

I think you kinda have to be a Jack of all NLEs and Color Managed Workflows in this day and age. You don't won't to get caught flat footed when certain opportunities make themselves available but you can't take advantage of those opportunities because you lack the knowledge to do so.

Companies will always do what's best for their bottom line, if that benefits their customers great, if not well the customers be damned.

Yeah, it is great to know as many as possible. I haven't looked at Baselight recently, I'll have a look. But yeah in general the more tools you know, the better you can assess the right tool for the job.

 

[Steve Sherrick]

I want to go back to the Mac for alot of reasons one being to use Filmlight's "Baselight Look" which mirrors the actual interface and tools of the much more expensive Turnkey systems than Baselight for Avid does. Baselight Look will also get the same Version 6.0 updates as the Turnkey systems will get when it becomes available.

Just checked out Baselight Look. That seems like a great way to learn the program!