Is FCPX the beginning of the end of the world?

[Brian Drysdale]

Editors tend to stick to the NLE they know. Although, if Apple changes how you operate the software you' could be into retraining anyway. It will also depend on what you want to use NLE for and the other systems you want your NLE to interface with. If nothing speaks to each other options may become more limited.

The BBC went for Premiere rather than FCP.. BBC commits to Premiere Pro | News | Broadcast I assume because it interfaced with the systems they had and are putting in place.

[Heath McKnight]

I should talk to my engineering friend I used to work with at Comcast Spotlight (advertising arm); he spent years at the BBC and would talk about how they would be the first to migrate to major new hardware and software. I'm curious what he thinks about BBC and Premiere Pro, and even the new FCP X.

Heath

[David Parks]

Originally Posted by Heath McKnight

Everything changes. If Avid and Adobe have similar plans to change a 1990s way of NLE UI and workflows, they've probably shelved it by now. I think FCP X is Apple's way of moving the way we cut into the 21st century.

heath

None of us know what Avid's or Adobe's product roadmap looks like. Avid has demoed cloud-based editing at NAB and Adobe has tremendous resources, hardware partnerships, and some of the best programmers in the world. I'm sure that they are not shelving anything that would make them competitive in the future.

Heath, what do you mean by a 1990's way of NLE design?? The interface GUI? Rendering? Becuase Avid and Adobe,with their products, under the hood built very reliable media management and instant direct linking ingest, ("no background rendering" required) and resolution independent frame rate independent timeline editing, again in real-time, no background rendering required. Not as sexy as clip connections and auditions. Features that look sexy or demo well tend to get attention these days. No get me wrong, some of these features Iin FCPX l like and I hope Adobe and Avid come up with similar features.

My opinion on change though,

Some things don't change. Markets are markets and customers are customers. A b flat in music has always been basically a b flat. A Les Paul guitar is still a Les Paul. Coca Cola is still Coca Cola. (Remember New Coke.) Younger generations always want change so they can call something their own.
NASA is old.. Space X is new. Always need a revolution or we get bored. Are you saying that editors are bored with the "look" of Media Composer? A Craftsman wrench is still a Craftsman wrench. If it does the job who cares. Not me. It isn't like I wear a GUI for clothing and a fashion statement.

Who cares,,it is what you do with the tools that matter.

There are some different things in FCPX, but it in my opinion it isn't the revolution that Apple promised. I am going to listen in on Scott Simmons webcast ProVideo Coalition.com: Pro Cameras, Video Editing, Motion Graphics and still learn FCPX because we shouldn't learn just one editing application. Because sometimes the revolution creates unintended results and you don't want to be stuck on one single platform hoping in faith that your software company loves and cares for you.

It's just a tool. Clients will still be hard to please, someone will always want to change for change sake, and you're only as golden as your current project.

A cut is still a cut, a script is still a script, an audience is still an audience. And I'm blessed that I get paid a salary to edit. Regardless of the tool.

Sorry for the sermon, Cheers

[Jim Andrada]

Re Bb is Bb

Well sort of

But the pitch that Bb represents has changed over they years. I play a brass instrument (tuba) and I know that very old instruments had tuning slides that were set for more or less A = 435 Hz. Today's US standard is A = 440 Hz. US pianos are tuned at A=440 HZ, but my wife's German piano is tuned to A = 442 Hz and I've even heard of some European orchestras trying A = 444 Hz.

Well, maybe a dollar is a dollar - or maybe not thanks to inflation etc.

Oh heck, there's a standard Kilogram in a glass case in a locked room in France - except they've detected a slight change in its mass over the centuries.

North Pole has moved around - is nothing constant

Guess not.

Change is good for us - keeps us on our toes and shakes us up. I have no problem with Apple shaking up FCP, particularly since I don't use it:-)

It just triggered some thoughts about the broader implications for all of us.

[Heath McKnight]

Basic UI of NLEs haven't changed much at all since the 1990s. A buddy of mine emailed me that going back to Avid this week was like picking up where he left off in 2003 or so, something many bloggers are saying these days.

I don't know the road map, but if Adobe and Avid were planning on radically changing their UI (a la FCP X), I'm sure they're shelving it now. Just speculation on my part.

A lot of this anger reminds me of when FCP 1.0 first shipped (and Vegas 1.0, too) -- too consumerish, what are they thinking (apple and sonic foundry) etc. I know I was ridiculed for selling my copy of Premiere 5.1 to buy FCP 1.0, nearly 12 years ago.

Heath

Originally Posted by David Parks

A cut is still a cut, a script is still a script, an audience is still an audience. And I'm blessed that I get paid a salary to edit. Regardless of the tool.

Couldn't have said it better myself. I don't think anyone looks at my stuff and thinks, "Huh, Avid, Final Cut, etc." As long as I can tell a story, I'm fine. I started with 16mm film (two reels, a viewer and a slicer/tape -- sorry, I forget the terminology), then went to tape-to-tape, then worked a little on an old Avid and D-Vision, before going to Premiere and finally FCP. That was my evolution of editing, but I always relied on my skill as an editor, not necessarily my skills with the tool itself.

heath

We can also blame FCP (and affordable solutions like Vegas, Avid XPress/MC and Premiere Pro) and the rise of one-man-band editors for the fall of the post production house:

10 Dying U.S. Industries: IBISWorld

Heath

[Warren Kawamoto]

Massive computing power is not your desktop at home, it's in the cloud. As technology advances, I think we'll see handheld apps that will be capable of professional editing simply by interfacing with the cloud. Gone will be the days when you needed to download software to your desktop. The power is in the CLOUD!

[Heath McKnight]

I've been wondering about video editing in the cloud for years now...

heath

[Rick L. Allen]

Originally Posted by Warren Kawamoto

Massive computing power is not your desktop at home, it's in the cloud. The power is in the CLOUD!

Perhaps for the regular consumer but I can guarantee you that not one of my HD projects that tops out at 100+ GB file size is going to be uploaded to the cloud. And I'm certainly not putting my raw content on the cloud either.

It's very clear that Apple has staked out this consumer based position but for the pros FCP X doesn't cut it. We have to work with files, formats & hardware from the past, present and future. It's off to Adobe Premiere Pro for me. At least I can open my legacy FCP7 projects with Premiere.

[Heath McKnight]

Before everyone jumps ship on Apple and FCP X, at least see what is developed in the coming weeks and months. I have a good feeling about this.

Heath

ps-My pal who worked at the BBC says they've been Avid for years, so going to Premiere was a surprise.

[Brian Drysdale]

The Premiere could for be those DV director types who do their own editing and fast turn around programmes, while the high end editors continue with AVID. I expect they'll be working in parallel for some time.

[Ron Wilk]

I guess you can add me to the list of those who are in the process of transitioning over to Avid.

I've been an FCP fan for many years, and still find FCP7 useful and capable of doing whatever needs to be done at the present time. That said, it appears to be dead in the water, with no future updates or support. While I have no hands-on experience with FCPX, it's clear from the numerous posts on this and other forums that it is not a transition—no reasonable way to move existing FCP projects over to FCPX—product and, at least for the time being, appears primarily consumer oriented. Both Avid and Adobe have anticipated the angst brought about by this new release by offering significant price reductions in the form of cross/grades. I for one have taken advantage of this opportunity and am about to install the latest Avid Media Composer for OSX. I really hate to jump ship and make the arduous climb up the learning-curve ladder, but I'd rather go with tried, true and continued support, rather than wish upon a star and hope that Apple will someday reshape FCPX into the program we had all hoped it would be.

[Richard D. George]

I am an advanced amateur, so I should be part of the target market for FCP X, but I don't want anything to do with it. My son and I have switched to Premiere Pro Bundle CS5.5. I will sell our copy of FCS 3. We have a Mac Pro with quad core, 24 GB of RAM, and several terabytes of external eSATA RAID drives, plus a Macbook Pro with a matte screen (a big deal to me), an i7 processor, and two 1 TB external RAID drives.

Premiere Pro appears to work well (and fast) natively with Canon DSLR and Canon XF footage, and integrates well with AE (which comes with the bundle).

Look at the articles on the home page of DVInfo.net to see where folks are headed.

The BBC is wise.

[Jim Greene]

Here's an interesting take: FCPX is targeted at Pro Photographers. Read Ron Dawson's post: FCPX and the Death of Final Cut Pro 7 is All Vincent Laforet’s Fault (or Why I think FCPX is Aimed Squarely at Photographers) The Art & Business of Filmmaking & Photography

[Richard D. George]

Vincent Laforet is now using Premiere Pro CS5.5 is addition to FCP7. He has a blog post about how easy he found it to be to "round trip" a project between the two NLE's. Shane Hurlbut uses CS5.5 and Philip Bloom is now trying it out.

[Heath McKnight]

I don't have FCP X yet, but I hope to get it very soon. In addition, I own FCS 2009, Avid MC 4.5 and CS5. Out of the latter 3, FCP 7 is still the best for me. I'm pretty self-contained as an editor, only working on my individual projects. In the past, I'd edit a feature and export problem sound to a trusted audio editor (I know, Soundtrack Pro, but my colleagues have the best audio gear and software), or if VFX was coming in, I'd use what my FX guy would send, normally as an HD QuickTime.

heath