Why everyone is so painfully wrong about FCPX

[Brandon Kraemer]

Sergio your a pretty smart guy.

We would love to support FCP-X. And if someone sends us an API.. or SDK.. or whatever else we need... we will get right on it.

Contrary to what others are "officially" saying... There has been ZERO integration work started on it to this day ( at least on our side )..

And this I find amazing, that one of the top NLE software development companies and one of the most cutting edge camera system production companies are not sharing SDK/API information behind the scenes, yet Automatic Duck had a FCPX plugin released the day after product launch. I see a huge discrepancy there. (I am a fan of Autoduck, been using it for over a decade.)

As for the apparent misinformation from Pogues sources, are they doing all they need for .R3D by themselves at Apple using a .R3D SDK and not need to open any dialogue with Red on this?

 

[JC Bendock]

A little OT (alot) but has anyone who is actually playing around with FCP-x noticed its potential as a touch app. The more I use it he more it seems to be designed for use with on-screen touch controls. I wondering if apple has a little more up their sleeve then they are letting on. I wonder what the possibilities of an Ipad Pro being released are, possible the rumored 2k model. I think i might have to much hope in apple bringing us futuristic devices, but I have been waiting for my flying car since I was 8.

 

[Brandon Kraemer]

an iOS version of fcpx is a given.

 

[Tim Morten]

Apple did all of this this 10 years ago and they even used practically the same name!

OSX

Does any one remember when OS 10.0 came out? No 3rd party software, not even Adobe; classic-9 mode was still a patch or two away (which costed $50!); it crashed all the time. But eventually it became one of the best operating systems and everything was OK!

See you in 10 years!

 

[Subhadip Sen]

Apple did all of this this 10 years ago and they even used practically the same name!

OSX

Does any one remember when OS 10.0 came out? No 3rd party software, not even Adobe; classic-9 mode was still a patch or two away (which costed $50!); it crashed all the time. But eventually it became one of the best operating systems and everything was OK!

There's a difference - OS X is based on a well-established OS family - Unix. It was just another distro. In fact, it was the very move to Unix that ignited a development boom for Mac OS. Macs just became more and more like PCs, and with the Intel transition in 2006, there's no questioning the fact that today a Mac is just another PC with a Linux OS.

FCP X is something of an unknown. It doesn't really use any established standards like OpenFX. Unlike Unix it is incredibly closed and proprietary. Prior to June 21st leading plug-in makers (Red Giant) and leading camera manufacturers (RED) hadn't even used it. There's no API, SDK, nothing. Yes, Automatic Duck seems to have some plug-ins coming, but they seem to be the only one, so far.

While I have no doubt it will improve over the years, that is only assuming Adobe, Avid and Sony do nothing. FCP X is well behind its competitors today, and be rest assured the competitors will now be extra motivated to step up their development.

Of course, things could change drastically, in September 2011 or in 2015, I don't know. But there's no reason to use it today over Premiere Pro CS5.5 or Vegas Pro 10. When and if it does catch up to the aforementioned NLEs, I will give FCP X (or its successors) a fair try. I just want the best tool to help me do my job - everything else is meaningless.

 

[Craig W. Bickerstaff]

There's a difference - OS X is based on a well-established OS family - Unix. It was just another distro. In fact, it was the very move to Unix that ignited a development boom for Mac OS. Macs just became more and more like PCs, and with the Intel transition in 2006, there's no questioning the fact that today a Mac is just another PC with a Linux OS.

Mac OS X is a UNIX OS it's not Linux and even though it was built upon the foundations of Next Step it is still an example of radically changing architectures to advance a platform whilst almost completely ignoring backwards compatibility though they did supply Carbon so that OS 9 and 8 apps could be ported with out too much re coding.
Why Apple used Carbon to put FCP on OSX in the first place? Now there is the real question.

 

[Gavin Greenwalt]

Apple did all of this this 10 years ago and they even used practically the same name!

OSX

Does any one remember when OS 10.0 came out? No 3rd party software, not even Adobe; classic-9 mode was still a patch or two away (which costed $50!); it crashed all the time. But eventually it became one of the best operating systems and everything was OK!

 

[Patrick Grossien]

This may be interesting to all of you....
on dvcreators.net, josh mellicker talks about "first cut", which later was rebranded imovie and initially was supposed to be a program
to make the quick first raw edit and sort with your footage to then later take it to finalcut to finish.
he addresses the release in that article. as he puts it "apple's business strategy (or lack thereof)"

http://www.dvcreators.net/what-does...olution-think-of-the-final-cut-pro-x-release/

enjoy

p/

 

[Mark L. Pederson]

Here's a pretty decent "the glass is half-full" blog post - http://thefinalrewrite.net/2011/06/24/sanity-in-the-fcp-x-debacle/

Like I said - the potential is there - Python scripting in an NLE would be major for pipelines and workflows - but the clock is ticking and folks will jump ship more and more - Adobe's next builds are incredible - so .... Apple really can't sit on the fence. They need to show, in actions, in the next three months - their commitment to the professional industry.

 

[Tim Morten]

Apple really can't sit on the fence. They need to show, in actions, in the next three months - their commitment to the professional industry.

You mean, if they aren't too busy with iPhone 5 and iPad 3... .

 

[Jeff Kilgroe]

Completely separate divisions and development teams. iOS 5 is effin' awesome, BTW.

Anyway, I agree with Mark, the potential is there. The current release of FCPX is just not "it". Apple needs to give us a roadmap or at least some indication that they are listening. Scripting will be nice (if/when it happens)... And I'm so confused about the SDK (or lack thereof).

There's a lot of talk about people jumping ship. The fact is, many already did some time ago. I have hardly touched FCP in the past 2 years. I think I loaded it once in the last 6 months. Most all my editing tasks are Adobe and Avid. Now with CS5.5 and Epic, I'm 95% Adobe now. The FCP ship was sailing proudly in '07, but not much of anything happened after that. By late 2008, the ship was sinking pretty fast. FCP7 arrived in '09 and it was a paid upgrade for what really was nothing more than a minor point release which was 8 months past-due. Now for over 2 years, we have had nothing new except for a couple minor, and crappy, barely-beta R3D plugin updates for Color. And it's been months since that's happened.

I work with people almost daily who have been trying to cling to FCP as their primary NLE. For some peoples' workflows it is still just fine. For others, like those doing R3D work, FCP7 is a liability at this point. Many cling to it because they're afraid of learning new software. Which is totally irrational in every way, but people "can't be bothered" or they fear the "learning curve". Learning curve to go from FCP to Premiere is like a day, even less if you already know a few other Adobe apps. ...Now Apple gives us FCPX. Which is pretty much worthless to anyone other than the prosumer crowd who is content or able to exist entirely within the single application for editing, titles, color grading, etc.. So anyone who is "jumping ship" now are the remaining few who were only circling the wreckage in a lifeboat anyway.

 

[Scott Crawley]

A little OT (alot) but has anyone who is actually playing around with FCP-x noticed its potential as a touch app. The more I use it he more it seems to be designed for use with on-screen touch controls. I wondering if apple has a little more up their sleeve then they are letting on. I wonder what the possibilities of an Ipad Pro being released are, possible the rumored 2k model. I think i might have to much hope in apple bringing us futuristic devices, but I have been waiting for my flying car since I was 8.

I read on a rumor site that in the near future all new Apple displays would be touch enabled. Both seem likely, particularly when considered together.

 

[Tim Morten]

Completely separate divisions and development teams.

You're absolutely right... that said, having worked for some large companies myself, I know that the company focus has a lot to do with how much money, staffing, and direction each division/dev team gets. For FCPX to have released in the state it did makes me suspect that the corporate focus at Apple is somewhere other than on professional apps. That doesn't mean it's impossible for them to correct, but IMO it does create an on-going potential for the same kind of mis-steps as FCPX. Companies whose existence relies on professional apps have a lot more to lose, and are correspondingly motivated to avoid these kinds of mistakes. They have less resources, but they allocate the resources they do have with more of a laser focus. Those are the guys I tend to put my faith in, over a company that derives the bulk of its revenue from a phone...

 

[Emery Wells]

Here's a pretty decent "the glass is half-full" blog post - http://thefinalrewrite.net/2011/06/24/sanity-in-the-fcp-x-debacle/

Like I said - the potential is there - Python scripting in an NLE would be major for pipelines and workflows - but the clock is ticking and folks will jump ship more and more - Adobe's next builds are incredible - so .... Apple really can't sit on the fence. They need to show, in actions, in the next three months - their commitment to the professional industry.

Ok, so after taking a lot of heat for my post here and spending more time with the app, I have to concede Apple has made some pretty big mistakes and I do understand why people are freaking out. I still think their biggest mistake was communication. From the very start with the steamroll into the Super Meet through now, they have not conducted this rollout with a lot of grace. If Apple continues to be so non-communicative it's really difficult to say one way or the other if their philosophy has really switched to address the needs of the YouTuber's out there or if they are still committed to those of us making a living and running a business using their software.

I still don't understand why people are dragging David Pouge over the coals for acting as Apples conduit to communicate something to all of us. Yes he made mistakes (we know he's not a Pro editor so we should cut him some slack), yes he made a terribly unfunny video (he's lovable enough so we should cut him some slack), but mostly he dispelled a lot of misinformation.

 

[Brad Webb]

I still don't understand why people are dragging David Pouge over the coals for acting as Apples conduit to communicate something to all of us. Yes he made mistakes (we know he's not a Pro editor so we should cut him some slack), yes he made a terribly unfunny video (he's lovable enough so we should cut him some slack), but mostly he dispelled a lot of misinformation.

He deserves to be taken out to the woodshed because he blatantly tried to mislead people so Apple could sell more versions of FCPX. At best his answers to professional concerns were laughable and at worse they were flat out lies.

 

[Thor Melsted]

Check out this article from over a year ago:
http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/10/05/18/apple_scaling_final_cut_studio_apps_to_fit_prosumers.html

With this in mind, and considering what was released, I'm not sure why the announcement was at NAB rather than CES.

 

[Colin Sheldon]

I still don't understand why people are dragging David Pouge over the coals for acting as Apples conduit to communicate something to all of us. Yes he made mistakes (we know he's not a Pro editor so we should cut him some slack), yes he made a terribly unfunny video (he's lovable enough so we should cut him some slack), but mostly he dispelled a lot of misinformation.

One could easily argue that he created misinformation.
http://www.richardharringtonblog.com/files/fcpx_response.php

 

[Gavin Greenwalt]

I still don't understand why people are dragging David Pouge over the coals for acting as Apples conduit to communicate something to all of us. Yes he made mistakes (we know he's not a Pro editor so we should cut him some slack), yes he made a terribly unfunny video (he's lovable enough so we should cut him some slack), but mostly he dispelled a lot of misinformation.

People are pissed because he tried to sweep their legitimate concerns under the rug with an air of "Professional users don't' know what they're talking about and they're just afraid of change." He deserves all of the flack and more that he's received. If he had approached it from a perspective of humility (after all like you said he's not a pro-editor) and offered up "does this address your concerns?" then people would have cut him some slack. Instead of he pushed misinformation because he's a corporate shill posing as a journalist--and made Apple look even more out of touch than before. If Apple wanted to communicate to its professional customers then they could have gone down the very very long list of actual professional FCP editors to pass along their response. The fact that Pouge become the defacto spokesperson speaks to their cluelessness.

This is why companies need to be sure they have people in community relations who actually understand the users' perspective and the tech. Users generally can't articulate the technical problems and developers generally can't intuitively grasp the user problems.*

*In full disclosure I am on a company's payroll as just such a person so my opinion on this matter isn't completely unbiased.

 

[D Fuller]

Apple did all of this this 10 years ago and they even used practically the same name!

OSX

Does any one remember when OS 10.0 came out? No 3rd party software, not even Adobe; classic-9 mode was still a patch or two away (which costed $50!); it crashed all the time. But eventually it became one of the best operating systems and everything was OK!

But importantly, they did not EOL OS 9 the day OS X came out.

 

[Meryem Ersoz]

I've already crossed over to Premiere and will probably still use the "old" Final Cut, so I don't care too much. As with all things, you buy the best tool for the job. Since purchasing RED cams, I no longer hand-wring too much over what Sony and Canon do. The same applies to the NLE. FCP X isn't offering me much that I need, and it has removed several critical tools from the arsenal. And it has now officially obsoleted my entire suite of plug-ins, which was my main reason for hanging onto hope that they would release something innovative. I probably have about a thousand bucks invested there, now useable for increasingly scarce non-RED projects and that's about it.

Their lack of communication is the most disturbing part of it all, in my opinion - no communication with Red Giant, or RED, or Coremelt, whose plugins I own and like, or with hundreds of other third parties, who are probably sitting by the phone hoping for it to ring. It is mostly just...a strange way to do business.