One of the problems of being in the middle is that I can see both sides. I don’t necessarily agree with them, but I can appreciate their point of view.
My blog this morning – Who’s Accountable – touched a nerve because, in addition to the people that commented directly on the blog, I’ve also had several private conversations with Apple and people who are very, very upset with Apple.
What’s become obvious over the last week, is that the way the Final Cut Pro X launch was handled has totally overshadowed the features of Final Cut Pro X.
Over the last several days, I’ve been consumed with trying to decide what to do – stay with Final Cut or move to another platform. If I switch, what do I switch to? What advice should I give to others trying to make the same choice?
As my office will attest, all this internal debating has not made me a pleasant person to be around.
Let me share my thinking with you — then, you can decide for yourself whether you agree or disagree.
First, let me say that I think the launch of Final Cut Pro X was very badly handled. As I’ve written, I don’t think Apple needed to cancel Final Cut Studio (3) as abruptly and coldly as they did. They should have given us more time to make an orderly transition. They were thinking as a technology company, not as editors managing a decade of assets.
Canceling Final Cut Server, even though it was incompatible with Final Cut Pro X, has unnecessarily jeopardized companies building a business on that platform.
Apple never does things accidentally, so they will disagree with me. Probably strongly disagree… I remember a remark one of the people at Apple told me before the launch, in that they were expecting a lot of controversy over the new version of Final Cut Pro.
Well, we can certainly agree about that.
I also think that Apple seriously erred in not providing a conversion utility between Final Cut Pro 7 and FCP X. The one-two punch of canceling FCS (3) and an inability to convert old projects dominated the discussion far more than the merits of FCP X.
Apple will disagree, but the launch did not take the feelings and passion of editors properly into account. And damage was done.
On the other hand, there are some very cool new features in Final Cut Pro X. Some editors are writing and telling me how much they are enjoying the new program. (Just as other editors are writing to tell me, at length, why they are moving to Avid or Adobe.)
There’s a lot of passion on both sides. And both sides have some truth behind them.
But, let’s look at a few more points:
* Apple said in their presentation at NAB that FCP X redefines video editing for the next ten years. There is lots of additional development planned.
* Apple told me that because FCP X is distributed via the App Store, they can update the program much more frequently than when it was sold as a package on DVD.
* Apple wrote in their FAQ that they are already working on adding new features, such as XML and multicam, to the product and releasing updates quickly.
* Apple has stressed that FCP X is designed to provide a feature set for professionals, and not just as an upgrade for iMovie. (I am not saying they MET the needs of professionals, but a look at the architecture of FCP X reveals features that no iMovie user would ever need.)
* However, it is also self-evident that Apple needed to provide a clear and consistent upgrade path to iMovie users who were totally lost trying to understand how Final Cut Express works. Apple feels that it is possible for one product to meet both needs.
As I wrote in an earlier blog – Moving Forward – the first rule of business is to stay in business. All of us should keep an eye on our options. Check out what Avid, Adobe, and Media 100 are offering. If you feel you can’t wait, then switch.
But I would also suggest that many of us would benefit by taking a deep breath and giving Apple a chance to live up to their promises for the program.
Final Cut Studio (3) still works.
It took Avid, Adobe, and Apple many years to evolve their programs to their current feature set. I’m willing to give Apple a few months to get their act together and fix what’s broken with FCP X.
I’m going to stay with Final Cut Pro for a while. Work at learning the new version. Give feedback to Apple on what they need to do to improve things. And share what I learn with you.
Final Cut Pro X has a lot of exciting potential – but, for many of us, that potential is not yet realized.
The burden is on Apple to deliver on their promises, update the program quickly, and repair the damage they did during the launch. The proof is in the program.
If they succeed, great. If not, Avid and Adobe will still be around in six months.
Larry
89 Responses to What Will Larry Do?
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Leo Hans says:
July 9, 2011 at 8:06 am
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Christopher Sanderson says:
July 9, 2011 at 9:43 am
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russtafa says:
July 9, 2011 at 11:27 am
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Allynn says:
July 9, 2011 at 12:10 pm
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Leo Hans says:
July 9, 2011 at 12:27 pm
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Cyrus Dowlatshahi says:
July 9, 2011 at 12:40 pm
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Floris says:
July 9, 2011 at 1:19 pm
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Nivardo Cavalcante says:
July 9, 2011 at 1:20 pm
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Kris Trexler says:
July 9, 2011 at 1:26 pm
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Caesar Darias says:
July 9, 2011 at 1:46 pm
← Older Comments Newer Comments →I have to admit that I am convinced Premiere is not a better choice. I like a lot of things of After Effects, but the interface is horrible. Same for Premiere. (not to mention Avid in this field).
Apple is still the best on software development. It’s a shame their goals has changed.
I hope they are not planning to have a paid upgrade with the missing things. I don’t be happy if we have to pay 300 buck every 6 months or a year.
Since App Store (and iTunes App Store) has launched, Apple didn’t charged for any update. I bought iMovie for iPhone and it was for free when they updated it for the iPad. Same for iWork Apps when they came available for iPhone. I hope this will be the road.
Trust grows from 10+ years of sweating through from juvenile Apple products (Mac llx, FCP & DSP) to Pro ones; learning the programs weaknesses and strengths, growing with each improvement.
The products are chopped and that trust is broken.
We are back to a juvenile product in FCP ex.
Apple appears not to give a toss. Sorry, life is too short. Move on.
Allyn,
According to Walter Biscardi. Quote
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http://www.vimeo.com/25656933
UPDATE: I accidentally edited out one small section of interest. Premiere Pro includes the ability to switch the Keyboard Shortcuts to match those of Avid Media Composer and Final Cut Pro.
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(Hope Conan is holding up okay)
Lou…
Agree with you 100% but during the 2 year cycle from CS6 through to CS7 how many jobs do you think you will do? Know this is an added cost burden (upgrade price), and Adobe will definitely take the mickey, but if you amortize it over that period I do not think you will find it so painful,
if you look at it from that perspective.
Anyway I think CS6 will have some really good stuff which might make that upgrade cost seem okay.
From what I am beginning to understand Adobe “appear” to be listening to YOU (US) the end user(s) and I guess ultimately there is a price to be paid for that in a product which you (us) have helped shape and form.
Floris..
Hope you enjoy trying to color grade/match color in a couple of years on your “ColorSynced” iPAD HD 4 or was that 5?
Best of luck!!!
Final Cut 10 can by no means be written off, but you can understand the bitterness people feel after such a long wait.
Thanks, Russtafa, I know about the FCP keyboard option in Premiere but I’ve decided to “cut the cord” once and for all. No reason to hold onto a set of dead shortcuts. The trully ironic thing for me is that I was a Windows girl (DOS girl, actually) and it was FCP that switched me to Macs. It might be FCP that switches me back! As everyone keeps saying: “Windows 7 doesn’t suck”
Conan is a bit confused by all this, as any two-year-old would be. But we’ve promised another year and possibly a new playmate – CatDV
Adobe and Avid listen to customers. Really? What does it means?
Avid evolves too slow. Maybe they listen, but the Mac version is too buggy, MC still lacks a lot of things users are asking for since more than eight years ago.
What are the wonderful things about Premiere? The ability to work with Red files? The ability to do what? Yes, you can open Premiere projects in After Effects, but if you need to have good postproduction workflow you still have to export an EDL for serious postproduction. After Effects it is not serious postproduction. Premiere->After Effects is like FCP->Motion. It’s ok for small projects, but it’s not the way to if you are looking for high end.
I’m one of those lifelong Apple people… started out playing Oregon Trail on an Apple IIe in 1st grade. I consider myself part of the cult, not just a customer.
But I’m an adult now, and I shoot and edit professionally. Apple is a company, and a successful one at that; they know how to herd the masses forward. You’ll keep buying their products.
Obviously there isn’t a single high-end post house that has yet upgraded to FCP X; the features aren’t there yet.
But FCP 7 still works (shit, I still run 6), so please all of you, shut up.
Russtafa, I can understand the bitterness. My first reaction was probably the same as yours. I don’t run a full-time business depending on Apple, I don’t have many legacy projects that I need to open in the future. I just want to create awesome stories and I feel FCP X will help me do just that.
As I said: I’m an Adobe user, since CS5… I like many things, Dynamic Link, workflows, Mercury Playback engine, the amount of formats it supports, Audition, best Photoshop integration, BluRay authoring… but I don’t care for the usability (keyboard shortcuts don’t work as well as in FCP, you can’t do everything with shortcuts, the shortcut manager is a mess) or interface design (icons are ugly, vague). I have tried Avid as well but I always feel that product is from a different generation. I really, really don’t like how the UI works (floating windows.. ugh), how the settings are stored etc. I do like the new Smart Tools… nice cross-over from the Pro Tools team.
As Larry, I will just wait and see and pick the tool accordingly. Switching takes time though, and getting good in a program takes even more time. It takes year until you learn the tricks of the trade (Larry is a good example of this 😉 I’m attending IBC in Amsterdam (tradeshow like NAB). Both Avid and Adobe are attending and I really hope they show MC 6 and CS6 (at least sneak peaks so we know what to expect).
Enough talk for today… time to get editing again!
@floris,
This is the reality of all being hit by Apple. Not exactly by FCP X, but what she did with everything else. It does not interest us.
I get the feeling from Larry’s post that chats with his Apple contacts have convinced him to calm down and stay the course. I’m betting that Apple’s feathers are unruffled about the brouhaha they have created, and are in fact reveling in the muck. They think they’re going to revolution video editing. Maybe they will, but FCX is far from being good enough to use on a serious pro project, or should I say “event.” (Still trying to wrap my brain around a sequence now being called a project, and a project now being called an event…or is it? Sigh…)
I found an old 2007 video where Steve Jobs intro’d iMovie ’08, where FCX has its roots. Visit the link and be sure to listen to what Steve says at 5:47 “…why are we obsoleting our own products?” As Jobs said at his intro of iMovie ’08 “…we really care about the stuff and we think it’s so cool.” You’ll think you’re listening to Steve himself introducing FCX back in 2007. Drink the Kool Aid.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tKJZSqIb138
I would like to stay with FCP X and I’m going to try. While I’m happy that Apple says they’re making multicam a priority, I cannot understand their limited native support for cameras that enjoy widespread use. Just look how Adobe makes your workflow so much easier:
http://www.adobe.com/products/premiere/native-tapeless-workflows.html
Is there an explanation as to why FCP X doesn’t do this? Isn’t Apple supposed to be a leader? Wouldn’t it be a virtual cakewalk for them to sell the most flexible/native editing sofware on the planet? Aren’t they supposed to employ the smartest and most inovative engineers?
It’s issues like this- and the alarming reliance on third parties- that send up red flags for me. Third parties means you have to spend more money and employ more steps to get your work done. Who knows, in the end, FCP/Motion/Compressor may actually be more expensive and complicated to operate than Final Cut Studio?
I’m going to purchase and learn Premiere, just in case.