Thoughts on new FCP X Sneak Peek

[Randy Johnson]

For my work outputing to DVD/BR is all I do so I will have to wait and see what they do. Id love to see a authoring app for it that supports BR id pay another $300 for that. If I had to guess id bet thats what Apples counting on. $299 for FCP another $299 for the new motion another $299 for some new version of DVDSP. Which is fine with me then I can buy just what I need.

[Heath McKnight]

I think we'll see a built-in Compressor, like Share, but more powerful, faster (definitely needs to be faster than Share) and DVDSP as part of that, like in Share, but more options. Maybe it'll open a window that you do all your authoring in. I hope there's a more robust BD option that what's in Share.

I could see Color and Soundtrack Pro being built-in, too (minus the loops, of course), but Motion? That's gonna be tough -- how can they build that in, I'm not sure, but if anyone can do it, it's Randy U. and his team.

heath

[Jordan Hooper]

Originally Posted by Caleb Reynolds

I notice many people complaining that this will be available on the app store. Downloadable. To me, thats a big time plus.

Thats the future people. One day no programs will come in a box. Just cause that means its easier to purchase doesn't mean its not for the professional. Gimme a break.

The problem with this method is file size. I installed the entire FCS and it was something like 40GB or more. Do you really want to do a 40GB download? For some it's not impossible but depending on your connection type this could take a long while to leave your computer doing a download.

[Bill Davis]

Originally Posted by Randy Johnson

For my work outputing to DVD/BR is all I do so I will have to wait and see what they do. Id love to see a authoring app for it that supports BR id pay another $300 for that. If I had to guess id bet thats what Apples counting on. $299 for FCP another $299 for the new motion another $299 for some new version of DVDSP. Which is fine with me then I can buy just what I need.

Randy,

Your workflow is your workflow - and delivery targets are what they are - and I absolutely respect that. But it's also important to be mindful of larger forces at work. I just saw a comment on Photography Bay that echoed my thinking about the future of ALL physical media.

- They make 10,000 copies of a DVD, then ask for a web version "just in case someone wants to view it that way." Then they're all surprised when the web version gets all the views but nobody cares about the DVD, then six months later they do it all again. -
** Kevin Anthony - Comment on Photography Bay.

I'm seeing EXACTLY the same from my corporate client base.

People (clients and the general public at large) want plastic disks right upnto the moment it dawns on them that they're functionally unnecessary after a simple tech change like a fast Internet connection or an iPad purchase takes place. Then the very idea of content delivered on plastic almost instantly starts to seem VERY old fashioned.

Just saying...

[Paul Cook]

Apple simply didnt release anywhere near enough KEY information that a whole lot of serious PRO users wanted. Getting a room full of apple die hard fan boys excited is like shooting fish in a barrel for Apple.

The issue is for the past 6 or so months (maybe more?) a lot of FCP users have been feeling very neglected and saying apple has left them out to dry while going after the iConsumer dollar. Now apple shows up with what looks like a pro version of iMovie, shows a few demos of some whiz bang features, some of which really arent that new and then shuts up shop with about a million unanswered questions for those of a mind to think to ask.

So now we play the waiting game...perhaps that was their goal all along. Create a massive controversy and have everyone salivating for the next demo? Its worked for me. Irrespective of what it looks like some of the 'new ways' to edit like the magnetic timeline have me giddy...

Im loving Ppro and the speed it handles media with Cuda...it will take a lot to get me to jump ship...but maybe...just maybe...?

[Ron Evans]

Originally Posted by Robin Davies-Rollinson

Well guys, I've never used a Mac or even worked with FCP, but this has got me seriously re-assessing...
That Magnetic Timeline feature - incredible!

The Magnetic Timeline is just like Edius insert edit with ripple set to ON.

Ron Evans

[Charles Newcomb]

Originally Posted by Dave Partington

So when you change your car you add up how much all the previous cars cost and say I paid $X for my car and this one is only worth $Y now? A bit silly don't you think?

Suppose the car salesman said "actually, we don't want your old car in part-exchange, but your new car will be only one third of the cost of the last one". Would you be happy or mad? Think about it.

The fact is you bought the software at the going rate at the time, with the features it provided at the time. You've used it, hopefully to earn money from, so it's likely paid for itself already anyway. Why complain that the upgrade to something better costs less than you thought it would? Think about it.

Don't expect Apple to offer you a further discount on $299, it's an awesome deal.

That's a pretty passive-aggressive response, don't you think?

And it is significantly lacking the ability to hold water, as far as arguments go. I've never bought a car that brought out a new model three years later for more than four-hundred percent less than I paid for the previous one.

$299.00 is an awesome deal. No argument there.

For the record: 1 - I'm looking forward to giving it a try, and 2 - No one said anything about Apple giving a further discount. It would, however, be nice if they did SOMETHING to recognize those of us who've been with them in leaner times. Maybe they will. June's a way off.

I just read a post on another forum from a fellow who paid full-pop just three months ago. Now there's a guy who has something to whine about.

[Thomas Smet]

Originally Posted by Charles Newcomb

Apple Announces Final Cut Pro X

Sigh. Three years ago I switched to a Mac so I could use both Final Cut Studio and Sony Vegas Pro on the same machine. Final Cut was $1,200.00, then. Two months later Final Cut Studio 3 came out... $300.00 for the upgrade, but the price of the program came down to $1,000.00. So I had $1,500.00 invested in software that was now worth $1,000.00. I whined to Apple and they gave me a free Mighty Mouse. Now, to get the new FCX, I'll have to cough up another $300.00, giving me a total of $1,800.00 invested in software that's worth $300.00.

I'm not feeling very appreciated, Apple.

That is how things work. There will always be updates to software that you have to pay for. Adobe and Sony do the same thing. About the only professional tool you don't have to pay for each upgrade is Blender. Apple never forces you to upgrade to each new version. Each new version was also a pretty large update. This new version is massive. A total new piece of software. The only thing it seems to have in common with the previous versions of FCP is the name itself. Every once of code is a totally new rewrite. So think of this as a whole new program. There is no 11th commandment that says you have to buy FCX. If the price is an issue for you then keep using FCS3. It isn't as if the software was made instantly useless just because of this announcement. If FCS3 was awesome 10 days ago it is still awesome.

[Robert Lane]

As with anything newly announced and not-yet-released there are more questions than answers.

I've been getting a ton of email about this upcoming release and unfortunately I don't have any "inside" information about the features or other goodies coming in FCP "X"; I used to spend a lot of time digging into Apple pro video issues but the last 2 years especially I've been allocating a lot of my time with Windows-based apps too. (Have you people seen Lightworks yet? Amazing stuff - and unfortunately Windows only. ugh)

But I do have a few points to ponder:

- It's not surprising that Apple integrated some of the cool and easier-to-use tools that have been in iMovie for years. As far as I'm concerned things like a filmstrip method of scrubbing footage, magnetic timelines and a other "simple" goodies have been implemented in other NLE's a few years ago and Apple is just now playing catch-up.

A few of the major benefits I see:

- Finally addressing all RAM and CPU cores (Apple's version of hardware acceleration)
- Making making deeper tools from apps like Color & Soundtrack built into the interface
- Finally addressing the god-awful gamma-shift (I hope!) by making the entire project color-managed by Color Sync
- And direct-element synchronization along with collapsable/expandable element timelines.

Again, many of these features have already been in use for years elsewhere, it's just finally coming around to FCP.

A few things to be wary of:

- All the "auto corrections" that can occur during ingest. That's definitely an "i-product" methodology and there will be times when you *don't* want FCP to alter your footage on ingest, so the hope is that these auto-import-altering features can be user-selectable and or turned-off when you don't want them.
- Just how well things like Grand Central Dispatch play with the hardware; if renders do truly become accelerated, great, but not at the expense of having your fans spin up like a jet engine and ruining your quiet edit environment.
- The learning curve. This is a truly revamped interface sharing almost nothing with it's predecessor. That means a fairly decent amount of time to get used to the new interface and learning the new tools.

Would I recommend someone who's just purchased FCS 3 getting this newer version - regardless of it's "low" price-tag? Not yet. FCP 7 is an amazing application and is the most stable and useful version of the Final Cut franchise to date. No need to re-invent the wheel if things are working properly.

My advice to anyone who's a current FCP user: Wait a few months after release and let those with time to kill suss out the kinks which will definitely rear their ugly head as they always do with re-written pro applications.

[Heath McKnight]

The second of these two videos:

Unofficial videos of Final Cut Pro X arrive online

They discuss pricing and Apple says they're doing away with Final Cut Express and upgrade pricing.

Heath

[Daniel Weber]

Matt,

I was taking notes live as the demo was going on. What I should have written is that with the inclusion of secondary CC and grading the need to send your project to Color is lessened. Who knows what they plan to do with Color, which if you remember was purchased and not developed by Apple. Since it seems that FCP X is a new from the ground up App, I wonder what will happen to Color. My comment was just a guess on my part at that time. There are still lots of unanswered questions.

Daniel Weber

[Kirk Candlish]

A number of people had an opportunity to talk with Apple execs after the presentation. The common thing I heard was, this is a sneak peak at FCP. The rest we're not talking about, yet.

The feeling I walked away with is that they rolled features of color and soundtrack into FCP. They didn't kill those apps.

[Kirk Candlish]

Originally Posted by Floris van Eck

I
- Mac OS X Lion only?

FCP X in June.

Lion not until mid to late Summer.

[Floris van Eck]

After seeing the entire presentation on Vimeo, I mus say I am impressed. Everything looks very smooth, and all the tedious tasks of an editor are done away with. I hope Apple will shed more news soon on the entire suite. I might want Motion and Soundtrack Pro, I don't need Color.

And I hope compressor is build in, not a separate application.

[Robin Davies-Rollinson]

Originally Posted by Heath McKnight

Robin,

What are you using right now?

Heath,
I use Avid in work, but have Premiere Pro at home - as well as Sony Vegas Pro 10, which seems to get used more and more since I can throw anything on the timeline and it just gets on with it!
It would mean a fundamental new approach for me to espouse Mac-based products, but nothing is set in tablets of stone and I'm always happy to embrace new technology...