Lightworks release date

[Brian Drysdale]

Editshare have announce the release date of release version of Lightworks: 28th May 2012.

Editshare announces the release date and more details about the new Lightworks

The 3 types of subscription are available: free with limited codecs, educational and professional with the proprietary codec.

They are also previewing the 64 bit version and the Linux version.

Editshare demonstrates 64 bit Lightworks and Lightworks for Linux in Tech Previews at NAB 2012

Lightworks has a been around since the early days of NLE and was one of the big 2, but has tended to be used more by the feature film community in recent years.

Having played with the public beta version a bit I can say:

Yes it's different to the other NLE, but it also has a flexible logic. It has a very clear workspace and doesn't look like your standard computer program. You need to explore it with open eyes and not compare it to your other NLEs.

You can use the much loved console, keyboard and the mouse. I gather the drag and drop is more powerful in the release version compared to the current beta version. However, I wouldn't hang on too much to drag and dropping everything, because the Lightworks Mark and Park may be a lot quicker.

A catch you out is that all bins by default are temporary and are made permanent by naming them, or selecting permanent. I guess this encourages proper filing.

The terminology is slightly different, but easy to understand. Thumbnails are called tiles, but these are very flexible, they can expand out with a timeline and they can also become an edit in their own right.

Lightworks autosaves everything, so you don't need to save as you go along

This is the windows version, the mac and Linux versions are expected to follow in the future.

It's a great new NLE option, especially if you've got a tight budget, but it's powerful enough to edit feature films.

[Adrian Frearson]

Thanks for posting this update. It's not very clear from the press release, or the other posts in their forum, whether or not this will be a Windows release at first. I presume that OSX/Windows will roll out first, followed by Linux versions later, but it's a bit unclear if this is the case.
Whatever the case, it's good to see this finally happening.

[Brian Drysdale]

Yes, it's the window version that's going to be released first. Work on the Mac and Linux versions will seriously begin when the windows version is released. I gather the new architecture makes this an easier operation.

The big surprise is that they're previewing the Linux version before the mac version at NAB. Perhaps those guys were making more noise on the forum and EditShare wanted to show commitment.

[Adrian Frearson]

Okay, thanks for clearing that up. It seemed from the previous press releases, that the Linux version would be rolled out last, but this sort of makes sense.

[Lynne Whelden]

I'm all for a new look and a new interface. I saw the "old" version of Lightworks a couple years ago demonstrated at a community college in NJ. Glad I didn't jump on board then because it would have cost me about $7k for the whole works.
The GUI of most edit programs these days are so cluttered, it's like the cockpit of a jet airplane. Time for some really fresh air now!

[Brian Drysdale]

Originally Posted by Adrian Frearson

Okay, thanks for clearing that up. It seemed from the previous press releases, that the Linux version would be rolled out last, but this sort of makes sense.

Editshare have confirmed that they were doing the Linux preview to show that they committed and reacting to accusations of "vapourware" by some people.

[Brian Drysdale]

For anyone interested in further info, here's a link to the just updated news section of the Lightworks site.

Announcement

There's nothing added to the latest news links at the top, but by scrolling down you can see most of the recent developments and the hardware that Editshare will be selling on the new web site without trawling through forums. Unfortunately, they were a bit slow off the mark updating their current site's announcements/news page.

There also seems to be a Lightworks publication on the horizon, all part of the release I'd assume.

BTW You can also edit just using a standard keyboard and mouse, so you don't need the specialist kit unless you want to cut at the fastest possible speed.

[Brian Drysdale]

Here's video at NAB consisting of an interview with David Shapton about Lightworks .

NAB 2012 - Editshare Lightworks - YouTube

[Lynne Whelden]

It does make me wonder what sort of business can operate by basically giving something away (or only charging $60/year)? To look at their booth, there's obviously major funding behind the effort. What am I missing?

[Brian Drysdale]

I'm not sure of how the business plan works.

It could be a sort of Ryanair (a very cheap budget airline) approach, by getting the volume, since for most people (even for many hobbyists) the pro subscription makes sense. This means they get a steady revenue stream from this, as against the buy the software and wait until the customer wants to update approach of say Sony Vegas. The customer having the advantage of always having the latest version at what appears to be a lower cost, even in the long run. It also helps to avoid the problem of pirate copies being used.

Lightworks could also create a synergy with their other post production products, so clients may be tempted by a package deal. They're also selling the Lightworks Console and keyboard hardware, and I assume they may continue to do turnkey professional packages.

Lightworks had fallen below the radar for many people, so perhaps Editshare felt they had to have a more "revolutionary" game plan. In tight economic times, with endless codec changes, it seems to make sense for the customer. Having the same NLE as used on many Hollywood feature films would be attractive to quite a few would be film makers.

[Steve Game]

Originally Posted by Lynne Whelden

It does make me wonder what sort of business can operate by basically giving something away (or only charging $60/year)? To look at their booth, there's obviously major funding behind the effort. What am I missing?

During a short conversation with an Editshare rep. at BVE in February, I asked what their business model was. The guy became quite agitated and seemed very unsure of his words. There were inferences that major customers were paying for full support and that the online community provided support for free. I finished the conversation unconvinced.

[Adrian Frearson]

Brian, thanks for the updates. I'm tempted to set up a PC, being 100% Mac based, just as a Lightworks station. I haven't jumped on FCPX yet, but probably will in the not too distant future. Adding a Lightworks set up, could make for a nice alternative. I guess the success comes down to it becoming widely adopted. An (eventually) cross platform, well priced NLE, could become real competition to the other NLE's.

[Brian Drysdale]

I think that may be reference to being able to buy a customer support package, which the current commercial customers have. I assume this is similar to the ones that you can buy from computer companies to hold your hand on a more personal basis. This is something that becomes important on multi-million £/$ productions.

From the Lightworks web site:

"For Education or Professional Members that require direct support from EditShare, we offer an annual Support Contract. This covers email, telephone and remote desktop support by a qualified Support Engineer. Beginning in November, we will also be offering customers with Support Contracts access to our Support Group in the Lightworks Community, where they will be able to communicate with Support Engineers through Live Chat.

Support Contracts will be available as follows:
Professional Member Support Contract £395 per year
Education Member Support Contract £195 per year
Education Site Support Contract (10+ users) £1,995 per year"

In the end the volume of customers is key, steerage class made the profits on those great liners, not 1st class. There have been approx 1/4 million downloads of the beta, which may or may not add up to subscriptions, but it does show that there could be a potential revenue stream from low cost annual payments. It's a bit like anti virus software.

There seems to an attempt to create a strong supportive on line community as per RED; their current web site seems to have a steady number of users in the high hundreds at any one time.

[Brian Drysdale]

Originally Posted by Adrian Frearson

Brian, thanks for the updates. I'm tempted to set up a PC, being 100% Mac based, just as a Lightworks station. I haven't jumped on FCPX yet, but probably will in the not too distant future. .

Some people are using boot camp on their macs, but perhaps not the best way of handling the heavy workload..

[Brian Drysdale]

Here's the Provideo report on Lightworks at NAB

ProVideo Coalition.com: the EDITBLOG on PVC by Scott Simmons

I believe this is the public beta version, rather than the release version.