Final Cut Pro X Released

[keith morton]

Sorry guys, I feel I just need to chime in, because there seems to be a general misunderstanding. The blame for this misunderstanding lies with Apple's lack of proper communication.

What Apple neglects to tell us is that this is a 1.0 version. They completely rewrote Final Cut Pro from the ground up, and a slew of features just didn't make it into the first release. They will be added later.

Some analogous examples.

1. OS X itself. When Apple released it in 2001, it was pretty much useless, more like a beta or a demo than a workable operating system. People were wondering if the Mac is doomed; if Mac OS X would ever contain all the features of Mac OS 9 (which had been the result of a 17-year evolutive process). Everyone was still using OS 9 for real work, and early adopters were playing around with OS X, and sending Apple feedback. Well, look at Mac OS X today. The idea of going back to OS 9 would be laughable.

2. iMovie. Apple threw out the old version a few years ago, and released the first iteration of the current one. Users were disappointed, several features were seemingly "cut." Actually, they weren't cut; they were simply not implemented yet. They have been mostly added back since. And with the first release of the new iMovie, the old one was still kept (as a free download) in case users weren't ready to live without some of the missing features.

3. Xcode. Virtually all Mac software development is done with Xcode. Xcode is perhaps the most critically strategic application for the platform. Yet when Xcode 4 was released a few months ago as a completely rewritten version, it lacked many critical elements. Again, some early adopters have already switched, but the understanding is that most developers should use a previous version until 4 becomes mature enough. And since then, it has been updated multiple times with changes and new features based on feedback.

Do you see a pattern there? Apple releases new products early, and adds any and all missing features as soon as it can. Note how the first iPhone didn't have copy/paste. Does anyone remember that now?

In 18 months, nobody will remember that FCP X didn't support RED or multicam, or it didn't have a proper audio mixing interface. Apple could have waited another year before releasing a more complete version, but chose to do so now. I don't think they're stupid. They have a reason, most probably they want to receive early feedback.

I think where they went wrong was failing to communicate successfully the fact that FCP X is a work in progress; a new start; and it will take time for it to catch up to FCP 7 in terms of features.

After all, FCP 7 is still there. You can run both, X doesn't overwrite 7 on your HD. These are growing pains.

I'm sure there will be people who find FCP 7 too old, and can't wait for FCP X to mature into a real workhorse. Apple will probably lose these customers. But look back in 2 years... The picture will be entirely different.

My two cents.

THANK YOU!!

 

[Jay A. Kelley]

Sorry guys, I feel I just need to chime in, because there seems to be a general misunderstanding. The blame for this misunderstanding lies with Apple's lack of proper communication.

What Apple neglects to tell us is that this is a 1.0 version. They completely rewrote Final Cut Pro from the ground up, and a slew of features just didn't make it into the first release. They will be added later.

Some analogous examples.

1. OS X itself. When Apple released it in 2001, it was pretty much useless, more like a beta or a demo than a workable operating system. People were wondering if the Mac is doomed; if Mac OS X would ever contain all the features of Mac OS 9 (which had been the result of a 17-year evolutive process). Everyone was still using OS 9 for real work, and early adopters were playing around with OS X, and sending Apple feedback. Well, look at Mac OS X today. The idea of going back to OS 9 would be laughable.

2. iMovie. Apple threw out the old version a few years ago, and released the first iteration of the current one. Users were disappointed, several features were seemingly "cut." Actually, they weren't cut; they were simply not implemented yet. They have been mostly added back since. And with the first release of the new iMovie, the old one was still kept (as a free download) in case users weren't ready to live without some of the missing features.

3. Xcode. Virtually all Mac software development is done with Xcode. Xcode is perhaps the most critically strategic application for the platform. Yet when Xcode 4 was released a few months ago as a completely rewritten version, it lacked many critical elements. Again, some early adopters have already switched, but the understanding is that most developers should use a previous version until 4 becomes mature enough. And since then, it has been updated multiple times with changes and new features based on feedback.

Do you see a pattern there? Apple releases new products early, and adds any and all missing features as soon as it can. Note how the first iPhone didn't have copy/paste. Does anyone remember that now?

In 18 months, nobody will remember that FCP X didn't support RED or multicam, or it didn't have a proper audio mixing interface. Apple could have waited another year before releasing a more complete version, but chose to do so now. I don't think they're stupid. They have a reason, most probably they want to receive early feedback.

I think where they went wrong was failing to communicate successfully the fact that FCP X is a work in progress; a new start; and it will take time for it to catch up to FCP 7 in terms of features.

After all, FCP 7 is still there. You can run both, X doesn't overwrite 7 on your HD. These are growing pains.

I'm sure there will be people who find FCP 7 too old, and can't wait for FCP X to mature into a real workhorse. Apple will probably lose these customers. But look back in 2 years... The picture will be entirely different.

My two cents.

No I understood... Completely. Work in progress... My response to that is: "Monkey Balls in progress" Look they decided what went in there first. And they did it according to what would move the largest number of units first. It's $299... HELLO! Pro apps have always been expensive because there are fewer of us to drive the numbers.. Not to mention the complexity of the App in the first place (Not that FCPx is complex). So the price reflected this.. Not so much here huh? That's cause they are designing this for a MUCH larger audience.

In 18 months most everyone will have had a job to do, and they will have moved on to a different system. If Adobe is smart they will offer a deal of Premiere 5.5 for $299 for anyone who purchased FCPx and is not happy.

Jay

 

[nigelsmith]

The irony here is that prosumers and the iCam brigade only want to download FCPX [instead of using the iMovie that they got for free] because of FCP's reputation as a PRO app.

 

[Eric Santiago]

Seems to me with all this hate online, maybe Apple should have just killed it like Shake.
Why cant the folks that have what they have just enjoy their workflow and move on?

 

[András Puiz]

No I understood... Completely. Work in progress... My response to that is: "Monkey Balls in progress" Look they decided what went in there first. And they did it according to what would move the largest number of units first. It's $299... HELLO! Pro apps have always been expensive because there are fewer of us to drive the numbers.. Not to mention the complexity of the App in the first place (Not that FCPx is complex). So the price reflected this.. Not so much here huh? That's cause they are designing this for a MUCH larger audience.

In 18 months most everyone will have had a job to do, and they will have moved on to a different system. If Adobe is smart they will offer a deal of Premiere 5.5 for $299 for anyone who purchased FCPx and is not happy.

Jay

Well, Apple is certainly betting the farm on this (at least their farm of movie professional clients). Suppose it would have taken another year to add all these features. As there would have been too much time passed since the release of FCP 7, they must have probably come up with FCP 7.5 or FCP 8 in the meantime, developing it in parallel with FCP X. Which would have deviated resources from building FCP X, which would have caused more delays, etc... A vicious circle. At one point, you just need to ship. (OK, RED fans may think otherwise rrr: )

And yeah, at this new price point, FCP will reach prosumers and even hobbyists it has never reached before. So any short-term loss of market share incurred by demanding pros jumping ship will be somewhat alleviated by a new class of users joining the party. (Users the pros will forever frown on.)

To me, this strategy makes sense. And of course, I would have preferred to have everything at once immediately. But I'll take this as a second-best scenario.

 

[Christoffer Glans]

A new version of a product in use by many professionals which has the "Pro" part in it's name should be aimed for professionals not youtubers and Iphoners...
What apple did here is screwing professionals over forcing their way of things and what is even more ridiculous is that so many buy their bullshit talk... seriously snap out of it, the product is NOT professional.
If you want to use it, then go ahead, no one is stopping you, but don't expect other people in post production to be in support of you when you say you can't export, share an edit or import their stuff...

That's not me being negative, it's just the truth, if there ain't any support for the usual workflows in use today then it's the truth.

Seems to me with all this hate online, maybe Apple should have just killed it like Shake.
Why cant the folks that have what they have just enjoy their workflow and move on?

The hate is from professionals who need a professional workflow and it's always justifiable to criticize a product that change everything from good to not usable.
There's nothing good about apple trying to enforce something upon professionals that makes people who invested in their products for post production need to change their entire system and investment because apple screwed them over.

 

[András Puiz]

I say, Apple is rebuilding FCP from scratch, and as this is very hard, it is causing a temporary loss of important features. In a year, nobody will argue that FCP isn't a pro app. However, I understand that a lot of people can't put up with this transition. (For one, I want to start using FCP X now, but I already see that I will need to make some round trips to Soundtrack Pro for sure.)

At the same time, a lot of you seem to say that Apple is cutting features on purpose and dumbing FCP down into a hobbyist application.

One of us has to be wrong.

Let me check back in a year to see who was right.

 

[Tim Morten]

Like Jay, I find myself astonished by the existence of Final Cut X apologists. It makes ZERO sense to use a crippled product when there are multiple other choices for fully functional products available. If FCPX had some feature that clearly established its superiority in another area, I would sort of understand. Frankly, the ONLY things it seems to have going for it are:
1. Finally leveraging hardware to provide speed - Adobe has been doing this for over a year
2. Finally supporting 4k - MANY other packages have been doing this for multiple years
3. Magnetic timeline (no source window, no tracks) - At best, an incremental improvement. At worst, a total gimmick aimed at consumers.
4. It's dirt cheap - Don't care

I do understand that some folks are sentimental. Perhaps FCP got them into editing. Perhaps they have a little Apple sticker on their car. Perhaps they have an iPhone, an iPad, a MacBook, and even an AppleTV. However, THESE ARE NOT REASONS TO APOLOGIZE FOR FCPX!!! For god's sake, listen to yourselves! Are you seriously comparing FCPX to Red One? @Jason Hilton, I'm looking at you man. Red One gave us revolutionary features from day one. Did we get new features along the way? Sure. Were we at any point missing the basic functionality needed to deliver? No. Dude, you've been drinking the Apple Koolaid. You're not the first, so I don't hold it against you.

Apple delivered a product that CLEARLY had great effort put into consumer level features. We all get it: they want to maximize revenue. Makes total business sense. The problem is, they called it Final Cut Pro, and they set an expectation with the community that this would serve our needs in the same way as previous Final Cuts. The reality is that this release, after years of development, has a LITANY of significant failures missing. Not fluff: basic functionality needed to be used in a professional setting. Fan boys can try to broaden the definition of professional if they want to, but nobody here is being fooled. This product is not usable.

"But just give them some time" some say. If Apple had messaged this as a preview, if Apple had published a road-map, if Apple were here in the forum apologizing and providing dates, that might be a reasonable position. The reality is that Apple sent a clear message with what they delivered: consumers first. It was not a subtle message. If you missed it, you absolutely deserve what you've got coming. Which is a future filled with having someone else's needs met before your own.

Avid, Adobe, Autodesk, Assimilate... these guys aren't in the phone business. I have every confidence that their editing packages will remain focused on professional needs. An investment in their products is an investment with a future. I'm sure Apple will spend some time trying to recover their lost reputation, and patch some holes in FCP. But I have no reason to expect that they will ever again prioritize the pro market over their true love: consumers. FCPX apologists, if you're content being number two, that's your own choice. But don't expect the rest of us to do the same.

 

[Christoffer Glans]

I say, Apple is rebuilding FCP from scratch, and as this is very hard, it is causing a temporary loss of important features. In a year, nobody will argue that FCP isn't a pro app. However, I understand that a lot of people can't put up with this transition. (For one, I want to start using FCP X now, but I already see that I will need to make some round trips to Soundtrack Pro for sure.)

At the same time, a lot of you seem to say that Apple is cutting features on purpose and re-targeting FCP as a hobbyist application.

One of us has to be wrong.

Let me check back in a year to see who was right.

How many professionals want and can wait and see? Investing in a certain NLE is more then cost, it's keeping a stable workflow and keeping customers/work.

Those who can wait until apple gives the blessing for them to work with FCP professionally raise their hand! The others are smart enough to not buy into their bullshit!

4. It's dirt cheap - Don't care

Aggreed, professionals buy NLE's out of what it enables them to do, not how much it costs. Consumers care about price.

 

[Eric Santiago]

Tim good post, I respect that. But why is it that there is so much hate in some of these posts, then they have to add that they jumped ship onto another app?
Most of the positives posts here are getting flack for having that "shrug off" attitude.
It seems to me that the ones that hate it are already using something else but they have to come here and p*ss on others then remind us all that they have a better workflow.
Folks its software.
If you dont like it, move along and have a great day

 

[ChristopherKenworthy]

The irony here is that prosumers and the iCam brigade only want to download FCPX [instead of using the iMovie that they got for free] because of FCP's reputation as a PRO app.

Yep. The cool factor shouldn't matter, but it does, and it may bite them.

To solve this, they should have said, 'Don't worry, this software is going to be great for Epic, Red One and Scarlet - just give us a few months.' Instead, their silence has made us all assume the worst, and rather than waiting for the toy to grow up, many of us are moving over to Premiere (and others), because we want a home that feels secure.

FCPX reminds me of the G4 cube - it's pretty, but nobody knows what it's actually for. Lots of Apple inventions have died a premature death, which tends to be forgotten because the phone and the pad have worked out so well for them.

 

[Stephen Gentle]

Wow, some people really need to calm down.

I think that the iPhone analogy is a good one here. The iPhone had a pretty laughable feature set when it came out - no 3rd party apps/app store, no multitasking, no 3G, no copy/paste. Remember how it was derided for having so few features? And the Android prototypes (and most other smartphones) looked like this.

Mac OS X was another example. It sucked when it first came out ("OS 9 is for real work", "I'm switching to Windows", "Apple is dead" were the sentiments).

I think this looks like a promising architecture (apparently the real-time playback and background transcoding and all that is apparently very fast, and it looks pretty good at resource utilisation). Of course we'll wait and see, but I think 3rd party hardware/codec support won't take long. Hopefully XML export (or equivalent) doesn't either.

 

[András Puiz]

Like Jay, I find myself astonished by the existence of Final Cut X apologists. It makes ZERO sense to use a crippled product when there are multiple other choices for fully functional products available.

It's a bit rich on a forum where we're all still waiting for a camera that was supposed to ship in 2009. There are people who can wait and choose to wait, either for Scarlet or for Epic or for RED support in FCP X, or whatever. Others cannot wait or simply won't wait. There are people who still use RED ONEs, there are people who still use FCP 7. Other people are switching to a competitor. It's all good. Nobody's forced to do anything they don't want to do. Why the upset? Why take it all so personally? It's just some technology choices after all. There are bigger things in life, even bigger things in this profession, I suppose.

That's what we hear anyway when someone raises an eyebrow over yet another RED delay. (Note that I'm not knocking RED here. I'm a fan too.)

Shit happens, and we just need to deal with it. Apparently RED isn't the only company who can't rush a miracle.

 

[ChristopherKenworthy]

Apparently RED isn't the only company who can't rush a miracle.

But here, the boss speaks to us, often personally. It's a world away from the ivory towers at Apple.

If people are annoyed by FCPX, it's probably because of that teaser event earlier in the year where Apple promised that this was going to be great for professional users. It just isn't.

 

[Tim Morten]

It's a bit rich on a forum where we're all still waiting for a camera that was supposed to ship in 2009. There are people who can wait and choose to wait, either for Scarlet or for Epic or for RED support in FCP X, or whatever. Others cannot wait or simply won't wait. There are people who still use RED ONEs, there are people who still use FCP 7. Other people are switching to a competitor. It's all good. Nobody's forced to do anything they don't want to do. Why the upset? Why take it all so personally? It's just some technology choices after all. There are bigger things in life, even bigger things in this profession, I suppose.

That's what we hear anyway when someone raises an eyebrow over yet another RED delay. (Note that I'm not knocking RED here. I'm a fan too.)

Shit happens, and we just need to deal with it. Apparently RED isn't the only company who can't rush a miracle.

Did you read the rest of my post? Because you fit exactly with the category of people I called out for trying to compare FCPX with Red One.

Red One: Product that we can deliver jobs with on day one.
FCPX: Product that might be at a professional level at some unknown time in the future.

Red: Company that is focused on the pro market, and tells us exactly what is going on
Apple: Company that is focused on the consumer market, and doesn't tell us shit

 

[Eric Santiago]

But here, the boss speaks to us, often personally. It's a world away from the ivory towers at Apple.

If people are annoyed by FCPX, it's probably because of that teaser event earlier in the year where Apple promised that this was going to be great for professional users. It just isn't.

Weird I was there. Im not annoyed

 

[AnthonyFlores]

Yes the vitriol and anger in many of these posts is almost as bad as the missing features.

While I will be patient and have a lot of faith in Apple, I do agree with the critics that it was a big mistake to leave out such HUGE
features like XML importing/exporting and couple others. That is on Apple, after all -- how much harder would it have been to make
sure that's in there?

If those basic and essentials were there now there would be no where near this crazy backlash. So they deserve the heat in that
sense.

Still, I can't help but think this is APPLE, they have the best developers and $70 billion in cash -- they will fix this rather than leave a
stain on their otherwise stellar reputation ....

And as for those who jump ship, can't say I blame you. But I will be willing to give them another chance later on.

Besides, I'm not a pro editor but isn't it good practice to be versed in multiple NLE systems anyway?

(I get the funny feeling Avid might re-extend that half price offer right about now, and I'm tempted to take them up on it ....)

 

[ChristopherKenworthy]

Weird I was there. Im not annoyed

Fair enough. I'm probably annoyed because I spent so many years trying to convince Avid users that FCP really was a pro cutting tool, and now I feel like I have to hang my head in shame.

Actually, I don't think anybody here's really angry. The net just makes us sound angry. We're just disappointed. We wanted a revolutionary, Red-friendly app. It's just a disappointment.

 

[Thor Melsted]

I think that the iPhone analogy is a good one here. The iPhone had a pretty laughable feature set when it came out - no 3rd party apps/app store, no multitasking, no 3G, no copy/paste. Remember how it was derided for having so few features?

Yes, but it was still a revolutionary smartphone. FCPX isn't a revolutionary NLE, it's just catching up to the others - with some minor innovations thrown in, any one of which I'd gladly swap out for XML export.

 

[Joe Walker]

I fully agree with Tim and took up Avid's offer last week.