Hi there
I thought we would jump in and try an answer a few of the questions above, so here goes...
1. Will be go bust/vanish overnight/get bought out?
Well, FXhome has been going since 2001, and has grown a great deal in that time. We have made the decision to remain independent and make our own products rather than have someone else buy our technology. We have thousands of users of both our photo software on Mac & PC platforms and video applications on the PC.
Of course anything can happen in business, but we have solid foundations.
2. We abandoned Mac users who built our company.
We have always tried to be clear and consistent here - we want our software to be cross platform. Mac users have been a significant part of the FXhome userbase, but it is also fair to say that they have always been outnumbered by PC users of our apps.
Our early video apps were built on certain technology that required Rosetta. When Mac moved to the Lion OS, it became impossible for those applications to function. It wasn't a case of an update fixing things - it was a complete rewrite or nothing.
At that point we began designing a new video application and we made the decision to utilise Open GL technology to create a powerful tool for video users, but at that point the GPU cards of the vast majority of Macs in the market weren't able to handle the program.
We're a business, so we spend time analysing sales numbers, market share and all that stuff, and we made the decision to pause our video software on the Mac, and some back to it when the platform had caught up in terms of GPU technology. This is where we are now, and therefore we're ready to develop HitFilm for the Mac.
3. Why haven't we merged with another company/got funding from Apple?
We want to be an indie company, making products for users from beginners to pros - if we merged with another VFX company, it might be good financially for us, but I doubt it would work out so well for our users.
If Apple want to get in touch, we'd be happy to speak to them about funding our development, but we haven't heard from them yet...
4. What about updates?
Once HitFilm for Mac comes out, users will have parity with the PC users, and we have regularly released free updates and fixes, and HitFilm 2 was released as a paid upgrade in November 2012, so it would be save to assume that we will follow a standard 12-18 month update schedule for paid upgrades.
Anyone who gets their software via the Kickstarter will have the same license as a normal purchaser, so there won't be any penalty for them.
5. Why can't you fund the development/What happens if we don't make our target?
Well, we have already said that we have been developing this product for a while, and HitFilm for Mac will be released at some point.
We know there is demand for the product, because of the number of requests we get, so we decided that we would give those users the opportunity to help us accelerate the development and get the software they want more quickly, and get a discount price.
Obviously, it benefits us as well, as it takes away some of the risk involved, as we are basically taking pre-orders.
If we don't make the target, HitFilm for Mac may not appear for quite sometime as it will have to be developed at a slower rate.
We're steadily moving on, and as I write this we are at 57% of the target with 20 days to go - so we think we can make it!
If you've got any further questions, let us know.