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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John Scotland says:
July 14, 2011 at 7:48 pm
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Monique King says:
July 14, 2011 at 10:33 pm
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Larry says:
July 14, 2011 at 10:41 pm
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John Scotland says:
July 15, 2011 at 12:45 pm
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Joe (audiovideotweaker) says:
July 16, 2011 at 12:43 pm
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Joe (audiovideotweaker) says:
July 16, 2011 at 12:59 pm
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NMC Mike says:
July 18, 2011 at 12:40 pm
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Pat (VET) says:
July 19, 2011 at 1:45 pm
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Jeff Orig says:
August 29, 2011 at 5:36 pm
← Older CommentsHi Larry,
I attended your workshops when you visited Manchester, UK. I’ve purchased your tutorials, their fantastic.
Just wanted to encourage you with this quote:
“The Music is not in the instrument but in the musician”…
I think you should keep teaching FCP but now also introduce teaching Adobe Premiere and maybe After Effects. Who knows what Apple have in mind, feels like they have forgotten the Pro crowd, but if Les Paul Gibson stopped making guitars would all the great guitar players out there give up playing guitar? No they would explore other routes to channel the music.
This is a good time to explore a whole spread of tools to achieve the end goal of creating great media content. It’s time leave the brainwashing of the Apple cult and focus on ourselves as editors, producers who if use Apple products, Avid Products, Adobe products to create.
At the same time, I’m gonna miss FCP as my main core editing tool, been using it for 10 years now and it feels like I’m moving house.. so I understand how you guys all feel. I’m going to learn FCP X, handy for doing fast, cheap gigs maybe? But now I’m shopping around for other editing software, its like going back into the dating game after been married to the same software for 10 years.
Premiere seems very popular with many of the DSLR tribe who are leaving FCP. Might explore this route, plus I like After Effects.
John
Hi Larry,
Thanks for posting this blog. As a recent graduate of film school, it angers me that Apple does not take into consideration the time, money, and effort that students give when learning a new application. I am at lost now that I am out of school I have spent thousands on equipment and just when I prepare to purchase Final Cut Pro 7, it is discontinued! When I contacted Apple and asked them about selling the suite to recent and current students who actually learned on Final Cut 7, they said no! What would you do Larry? I have explored other options such as Amazon and Ebay, but the price for Final Cut 7 has increased dramatically.
Monique
Monique:
Check with your resellers again – Apple just allowed them to purchase Final Cut Studio (3) again – at least for a short time. This should increase the supply and drive down the price.
larry
Hi Larry,
Just watched some of your presentation for the FCP X event in London,
it gave me peace of mind regarding the future of FCP X.
I’ve downloaded your FCP X Tutorials and they are great, what I think FCP Editors out there need now is information regarding a workflow for running FCP 7 and FCP X at the present moment, as some projects FCP X is not ready to handle yet so keeping FCP7 as the current worktool is essential until FCP X evolves with additional features.
I think the other issue is fear among FCP Editors who make a living using FCP, that Apple are not interested in the needs of the professional editor, it Apple could confirm this intention it would calm the race for finding a new editing software.
At the moment I have installed Motion 5 as well as FCP X, the only problem is that when I try to open motion clips in the FCP7 timeline it opens up Motion 5 which is not compatible with FCP7. Is it best to uninstall Motion 5 for now? So that I can make adjustments to clips in FCP7 in Motion4?
For now I will keep using FCP7 and will study the FCP X tutorials and experiment with play projects inside FCP X. At least this way you are ready for FCP X as it develops to utilise it’s power for future paradigm shifts in editing workflow.
John
John
regarding the update-frequency:
In fact I DO believe the upside of the App store path:
Apple will be able the distribute MAJOR upgrades ie. Final cut “11” in a shorter frequency then via DVD… these updates will cost but be more frequent then from 6 to 7 etc.. because they can happen sooner then the 2 years or so frequency so far… of course the minor bug fix upgrades won’t be different then the regular stream updates we received so far, but for sure major (pay) feature updates will be sooner then up till now.. otherwise the statement from Apple doesn’t make sense at all…
Some further thoughts on the move to X:
I never understood Apple as the HIGH END software company; more they where fore me always heros in providing the “little man” with low cost pro solutions; like Logic (I’m a user since Notator Logic 2.0 in the 90’s) and then final cut: instead of having to buy very expensive audio hardware (pro tools) or video hardware (Avid? etc) they provided a low cost solution for computer digital only workflows… and I was so glad to receive them!
Don’t high end pro users use very costly solutions anyway (in high end studios or film productions? Ok some may have customized their workflow around final cut, but is it really THAT impossible to continue to work now? for a while until the change to X or to Adobe etc. they can keep using FCP 7 or did that stop working now that X arrived? (or did you forget to put FCP into a folder before updating to X? 😉 sorry for that… lol
so maybe we should embrace or at least consider the new features of X and wait for certain pro features like multi screen and cam support etc. because it looks like these will follow…
Marketing-speak is no substitute for real answers.
To wit:
* 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.
…That is a stinky pile of marketing hubris. FCP X may redefine video editing for Apple users, but to announce they’ve redefined ALL video editing IN GENERAL is plenty arrogant.
The facts about what additional development Apple may or may not engage in, and when it might be distributed, has been (as usual) maddeningly difficult to extract from Apple.
* 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.
…This makes no sense, and is to me, more marketing fluff. When I bought FCP 7, it was on DVD, but all the updates came in through Software Update delivered through the internet. Now I buy FCP X from the Mac App Store, but the updates are delivered through App Store updates… wait for it… through the same internet. What about that enables them to update the program “much more frequently”? I don’t see the difference between Software Updates and Mac App Store updates that facilitates more frequent updates.
* 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.
…”Quickly”? What does that mean in this context? We’ll never know, because Apple steadfastly refuses to quantify ANY of these weasel words. To me, quickly means by the end of this week. To them quickly may mean ‘by the end of 2011’. Also, many would argue these are not NEW features, but the restoration of features that were already there.
* 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.)
…This is something I agree with.
* 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.
…I hope and pray that wasn’t the overarching reason, because that would be the ‘smoking gun’ that proves Apple chose to target pro-sumer and amateur level users over high-end professionals. In actuality, I believe the ease of migrating from iMovie to FCP X is a happy side benefit than a driving motivator for Apple, but it has provided a lot of ammo for Apple’s detractors.
I’m not a pro editor. FCP X looks like it will fulfill my needs almost completely as it stands. For me, being able to convert an old project would be the most desirable of the ‘missing features’ to provide. Pity that has to come from a third party.
John there is a glunky work around for having motion 5 and motion 4 on the system. I think it involves moving the Motion 5 app elsewhere so otion 4 becomes the default again. There is info online at Apple about it.
Basically as FCPX can’t use Motion 5 Motion 5 is just used to create FCPX templates.
So It’s not a problem having Motion 4 as the default (I think you may have to launch Motion 4 first before starting FCP (legacy))
Larry sorry to hijack your blog …..
Hi Larry,
I just want to update my previous comment.
I have been very fortunate to have several gigs lately and I decided to bite the bullet and try both Premiere CS 5.5 and FCP X for different projects.
The reason I want to migrate from FCP 7 to a new solution is to take advantage of the ability to edit files from DSLR right away. Speed is important in some of the work we do for same day edits on weddings.
First I tried Premiere CS 5.5, it performed ok and it is easy for a longtime Final Cut Pro 7 user to edit. I stuck to the Premiere keyboard shortcuts instead of switching to the FCP shortcuts that they provide to see if there was any increase in efficiency. I think that CS5.5’s only advantage over FCP7 is that it can natively edit almost any footage. Other than that it just seems less intuitive and requires a lot more dragging and dropping instead of keyboard shortcuts. It is ok, but not great.
Then I decided to give FCPX a try. I had already bought it and did not feel like getting a refund from my initial dismay. I initially went through your training and was very put off by “missing features” that I never gave it a serious look, until now.
To my surprise, FCPX is really amazing. I know that it is still missing some features, but it does a lot of things better than before. And instead of wishing for the old way, I decided to keep an open mind and try the features that Apple decided to offer. And with each change, I found myself pleasantly surprised at how well the program worked. And what I really mean, is that how surprised I was that it was even better that FCP7. Yes as crazy as that sounds, in many ways it is better than FCP 7.
Features that I like:
1. Supports almost any footage right away, then transcodes in the background for even faster performance,
2. To my surprise the media browser and the skim tool are very useful when used properly. I don’t have the skimmer on by most of the time, but it comes in handy. And the media browser is nice to shrink clips to single images and then stretch out to 1 second thumbnails when needed. It makes for much faster browsing of clips.
3. Magnetic timeline is pretty awesome.
4. q, w, e shortcuts are nice to use. (There probably was a similar shortcut in FCP 7, but for some reason I never used it until now.)
5. Effects, titles, generators are really good. No need to use Magic Bullet.
6. Adjusting exposure is really easy to do.
7. Synchronizing dual system is built in. No need for Pluraleyes or manual synching. Please add this to your training. I initially thought it was less robust than it actually is. This replaces Pluraleyes.
8. Tons of other stuff.
Room for improvement:
1. Remember/mark/auto-favorite clips already used in the timeline.
2. Zoom and skim controls seem funky. When using the zoom tool to zoom out, it does not seem to zoom out from the point of clicking.
3. Audio filter does not seem to copy and paste properly from clip to clip. Could be me.
4. Selecting a clip should not move the playhead. Sometimes you need the playhead exactly where it is but need to select and copy another clip somewhere else in the timeline.
5. Skimming moves the playhead too easily if you use spacebar to play. It’s ok to skim, but it should require a click on timeline to move the playhead. (My preference).
6. A lot more that I can’t remember
But overall, FCP X is pretty great.
Now, I have not edited very complicated projects yet, but will very soon. I will keep you posted.
Thanks.