Apple Says MultiCam Support is "Top Priority" in FCP X and More

The saddest part is by leaving such features out is they now have to charge you for every additional function they include. Remember those "accounting purposes" with the iOS upgrades.

As they will be adding functionality that did not ship with the original version.

Nice way for them to screw the pouch even more.

G4DP said:

The saddest part is by leaving such features out is they now have to charge you for every additional function they include. Remember those "accounting purposes" with the iOS upgrades.

As they will be adding functionality that did not ship with the original version.

Nice way for them to screw the pouch even more.

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Remember the "Updates" function in the App Store?

baryon said:

Problems I have found so far:

• You can't save your file, it autosaves, but it doesn't always work: you sometimes quit and you realize that it didn't save your project, this one's really bad!
• Reverse Speed doesn't work
• Scrubbing sometimes stops working
• Undo often stops working
• Making a compound clip of just audio channels can knock them out of sync even if they're linked to video
• Doesn't import MPEGs, and QuickTime 7 files, wtf?
• I don't see the point of events
• Sometimes it's doing something in the background, stops, and then starts doing something huge again for no reason.
• Keyframe editing is not as flexible as it was with FCP 7
• Can't copy/paste effects onto other clips
• Some interface glitches with animations and the inspector
• The timeline scrolls vertically even if your clips are small enough to fit

Awesome things I have found:

• Editing is actually fun with it
• Magnetic timeline is really useful
• Precision editor is pretty cool
• Match Color is very useful and actually works
• When you slow down a clip, you can choose to natively have Twixtor-like (though not as good) vector-based slow motion to create smooth 3D movement (takes ages though)
• Very good performance!
• Extremely fast final export, and accurate time estimate
• Responsive

All in all, it's missing many things but if you're not going to use special file formats and special equipment, you can still do a professional edit. I think the rest will get fixed soon.

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That matches also my observations. One more thing, which I find highly annoying, is that it seems impossible to send clips from the Time/Storyline directly to Motion. Or am I missing something?

The fact that one can't copy and past effects over to other clips is laughable. Well, many of the effects have been removed anyway. Yes, they are available in Motion but since FCP X inability to send clips directly over doesn't make it a clever solution.

Will definitely need some time to get used to it. Split edits worked for me better and less troublesome in FCP7 than in this version. I like however the Media Management in FCPX.

I really wonder how many people were actually working on this with Randy. One would think that Apple should have the financial resources to gather together enough talented guys to have a software "ready" for launch. With ready I mean a software which is at least as good or offers at least similar functionality as the one it replaces.

As a Pro user...

Okay... Apple has never succeeded in the "consumer" gaming market until the iDevices. As a professional Macintosh Certified IT consultant currently and as a systems admin for corporations like Macy's and Target, I can tell you that Apple dominates Marketing departments as well as easily 90% of the Video and Film Industry. XServes are too expensive in comparison to a $50 sever version of OS-X Lion running on Firewire Daisy-Chained Tandem Mac Minis or for that matter on possible new 16 core Mac Pros with a dual power supply option. FCP X is software that can be altered to a very vocal profession sector of Apple's consumers. Unlike other companies Apple does listen and improve. Or would you rather be running OS 9 2011 for a PowerPC 34000ci Tower Pro by Motorola or some other beige clone right now which crashes because it still doesn't have protected memory. When you say a blanket statement like Apple's treatment of Pro users leads to no success save the consumer market you are sadly mistaken.

Clone Macs - Stopped.
Industrial Design - Forever Altered
Firewire - Really, that's not Pro?
680xx to PowerPC switch - Nope, nothing pro about that.
PowerPC to Intel - Yep, must have been for grandma and grandpa.
OS-9 to OS-X - Surely that was to amuse people with cats and fonts on the inter-webz.

Finally... Final Cut Pro revolutionized Digital Video Editing. End of story.
Apple is addressing the issues people have with it and in a few months those early adopters who still own and probably still have the previous version installed can continue their work and have a work around if they removed the older software.

But oh no, Apple only makes iThings for people on the internet to get their lolz. /end sarcasm

Stella said:

Apple's treatment of Pro users has been rather shocking in the past 12 months: discontinuing XServes, depreciating Java without any announcement that Oracle will be picking up future development for weeks, and now FCPX.

Apple have lost touch. No wonder Apple never succeeded in anything but the consumer market. They simply don't understand. Their secrecy has gone too far....

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the vj said:

I know where Steve Jobs cancer is...
In his brain.

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Seriously, wtf is wrong with you? Or are you like 12 years old and enjoy negative attention, because thats the only way you get some at home?

*LTD* said:

Apple empowering non-Pro users. Enjoy the journey.

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Oh, really?

Are you for "dumbing" down of society? If so, welcome to "Duh, Kanada" where the nanny state and corporatocracy babies your every step of your non-agile mind.

You must be a teenager behind that screen, not prefering the professional industry to succeed and rake in consumer materialism where dumbed down product design reigns.

NY Guitarist said:

Another person who thinks they know it all, but clearly doesn't.

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No, I never said that. But I did say that I question if you and your gang knows everything. Because a lot of folks are declaring that this or that feature is vital to all editors. But have they actually done the research. Have they actually tracked down every editor, and asked them what features are vital. So they can say with total authority that 100%, or even 60% of all editors simply must have X, Y or Z features. Likely not.

As for the rest. I did my research, I pay attention to things like Apple saying that you can't use a MAS release to upgrade a preMAS application. Or Apple saying that this is a total rewrite.

As someone that added FCPX to 20 computers the day after the release so that our editors can start learning it, I know for a fact that it doesn't overwrite or kill switch FCS3. As our IT person as well as an editor myself I know exactly how hard it is to reinstall software, clone a drive and other methods commonly used by professional shops. Because I am the ones doing the work.

charlituna said:

No, I never said that. But I did say that I question if you and your gang knows everything. Because a lot of folks are declaring that this or that feature is vital to all editors. But have they actually done the research. Have they actually tracked down every editor, and asked them what features are vital. So they can say with total authority that 100%, or even 60% of all editors simply must have X, Y or Z features. Likely not....

As our IT person as well as an editor myself I know exactly how hard it is to reinstall software, clone a drive and other methods commonly used by professional shops. Because I am the ones doing the work.

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No one has said that every editor is unhappy with the product. However, there have been blogs and articles about dissatisfaction with the product and the reasons for that dissatisfaction. David Pogue of the NY Times, who originally wrote a positive review of the new FCP, later spoke with a number of editors and then issued a correction and retraction. He clarified that he thinks the product is great for high end consumers, but not so great for professionals. A similar stance has been taken by tech writer John Gruber in a recent Daring Fireball post. Fortunately, there is enough accurate information out there to let users make an informed decision.

charlituna said:

No, I never said that. But I did say that I question if you and your gang knows everything. Because a lot of folks are declaring that this or that feature is vital to all editors. But have they actually done the research. Have they actually tracked down every editor, and asked them what features are vital. So they can say with total authority that 100%, or even 60% of all editors simply must have X, Y or Z features. Likely not.

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So who have you talked with about what editors need? Are you saying YOU know what commercial editorial and post-production houses need? What Apple did clearly alienated a lot of people, in part because they presented FCPX at NAB as a Pro-App, to a very advanced FCP crowd, and as a replacement for Final Cut Pro, right down to showing the "same sequence" (their words, not mine) in FCP7 and then in FCPX.

Anyway, I'm out. I'll stick with the industry related forums on this topic, and come here for the latest iPad news.

Burger Thing said:

One more thing, which I find highly annoying, is that it seems impossible to send clips from the Time/Storyline directly to Motion. Or am I missing something?

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You can't do that anymore, you need to upload them to YouTube first, then download them through the 'Download from YouTube' option in Motion.

G4DP said:

The saddest part is by leaving such features out is they now have to charge you for every additional function they include. Remember those "accounting purposes" with the iOS upgrades.

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No they don't and they very possibly won't.

the whole GAAP thing that was going on with the iphones etc is not the same thing as computer software updates.

singlestick said:

No one has said that every editor is unhappy with the product. However, there have been blogs and articles about dissatisfaction with the product and the reasons for that dissatisfaction.

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And yet some people are using those negative comments as the basis of calling this a disaster that ignores the needs of professionals etc. ALL professionals. Which is likely not the case. That is my point. Don't presume to speak for ALL unless you actually talked to everyone and have numbers to back up your statements.

NY Guitarist said:

So who have you talked with about what editors need? Are you saying YOU know what commercial editorial and post-production houses need?

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No I'm not saying that. Because I haven't talked to every single editor out there. I'm just asking that others stop making claims without the facts to back it up.

What Apple did clearly alienated a lot of people, in part because they presented FCPX at NAB as a Pro-App, to a very advanced FCP crowd, and as a replacement for Final Cut Pro, right down to showing the "same sequence" (their words, not mine) in FCP7 and then in FCPX.

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And what are the post release reactions by the folks that were at NAB and talked about how awesome the preview looked and how excited they were based on that information. Real reactions not just your assumptions. Or your presumption that because you don't like the new software everyone in the world doesn't iike it.

charlituna said:

And what are the post release reactions by the folks that were at NAB and talked about how awesome the preview looked and how excited they were based on that information. Real reactions not just your assumptions. Or your presumption that because you don't like the new software everyone in the world doesn't iike it.

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Um... have you read anything out there aside from MacRumors? I'm not assuming anything, while in fact you are. The reactions are not so much about the UI of FCPX but the missing features that are essential for anyone who needs to do more than sit alone at the computer and never leave FCPX to do anything outside of it.

Need to send your project to audio-post for them to do ADR and Foley. Not gonna happen in FCPX. You have a client that is a WEVA type producer who brings the usual 3 camera shoot to turn around in the same time as before? Not gonna happen with FCPX.

I actually like the software UI and am interested in trying the color correction from within the app. Having secondaries with trackable shapes without having to roundtrip to Color could really be a time save on projects that don't need the sophistication of something like DaVinci Resolve.

I could go on, but it feels like a waste of time and energy to try an explain this. And earlier I did say I was out of here.

So, see ya.

TeaZy said:

Another missing feature that no one has really mentioned (unless I being really stupid and its hiding somewhere?).

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Some of the reviews I read suggested just this for many of the issues pro's were having. It seems strange the multi-camera edit feature was lost. Very odd indeed for a pro level application as multiple cameras angles seems to be very common on professional work.

bigjohn said:

I did this yesterday on FCPX:
http://youtu.be/PPnJyBS65H4

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you could've edited that in iMovie no problem.

tk421 said:

If you have to invest this much money AND learn a new interface AND can't open your old projects, you may as well investigate competing software. Oh, and the competing software does multicam and RED and external monitors right now.

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Exactly. Which is why we will be switching to Premiere or Avid as soon as possible. After 10 years on FCP. So long, Apple.

peskypesky said:

Exactly. Which is why we will be switching to Premiere or Avid as soon as possible. After 10 years on FCP. So long, Apple.

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and this is type of response I'm curious about. I've seen this a few times over the last week from various forums. 10 years of time, training and just whammo....ppl are gone? No calling Apple up, expressing your concerns, ream them a new one and find out if they are adding in the missing features?

I'm by no means defending their decisions. I've said this - I'm not a pro editor- just a single user so FCX would work for me. For the record, I'm using FCS3. It works.

BUT, I can completely understand the anger behind the missing features. I don't agree with their decision to leave out the log and capture features, the ability to share projects (or open older projects) etc... I'm shaking my head along with the pros.

But even as a small business owner, I can not for the life of me figure out the sudden urge to end it all so quickly. I haven't spent nearly as much as pro shops over the years, but I've spent enough and even at that, I wouldn't just switch. I mean, FCP7 is still working isn't it?

Maybe the industry moves so fast that people need the missing features more than I know, but to me, it doesn't make sense that people are just abandoning the time, money and energy they've invested without even a phone call.

Sure, maybe Apple won't listen, maybe they'll tell you to p*ss off, but I think you and the other pros so willing to move owe it to themselves to find out more?

for what it's worth, I think Apple is going to respond b/c they realize that pros are ticked off and the halo effect of buying mac pros etc..etc... isn't small dollars to them.

Cheers,
Keebler

I'm getting tired of arn's Apple Bashing. You'd think this, of all sites, would give Apple a fair shake.

From the very article in question, FCPX DOES include multi-camera editing:

"If you drag two clips into parallel timeline tracks, you can choose Clip->Synchronize Clips. By comparing their audio tracks, the program aligns the clips exactly. Now, each time you select a piece of the upper video track and press the V key (“disable”), you are effectively cutting to what’s on the lower video track."

That's multi-camera editing.

Like all the other bitching going on, it works differently than FCP7, and so these self appointed "pro" users are claiming it isn't there.

I wonder when "pro" became code for "adobe fan / apple basher"?

This isn't a suitable workaround, as you would have read from the comments below the article.

When more than 2 cameras are involved, this workaround doesn't work, according to people in the know - you know, the ones who use FCP and other tools day in day out for a living. And they know better than you or I.

Apple was given a fair shake, but editors found that FCPX lack features necessary for them to do their job. They aren't complaining for the hell of it. The criticism of FCPX is very real and valid. There are vastly more than a couple editors complaining.

Apple could have done themselves a favour by releasing a roadmap before the product was released.

econgeek said:

I'm getting tired of arn's Apple Bashing. You'd think this, of all sites, would give Apple a fair shake.

From the very article in question, FCPX DOES include multi-camera editing:

"If you drag two clips into parallel timeline tracks, you can choose Clip->Synchronize Clips. By comparing their audio tracks, the program aligns the clips exactly. Now, each time you select a piece of the upper video track and press the V key (“disable”), you are effectively cutting to what’s on the lower video track."

That's multi-camera editing.

Like all the other bitching going on, it works differently than FCP7, and so these self appointed "pro" users are claiming it isn't there.

I wonder when "pro" became code for "adobe fan / apple basher"?

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Keebler said:

and this is type of response I'm curious about. I've seen this a few times over the last week from various forums. 10 years of time, training and just whammo....ppl are gone? No calling Apple up, expressing your concerns, ream them a new one and find out if they are adding in the missing features?

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It's not a knee jerk reaction even though it seems like one from the outside looking in. Many people have been unhappy w/the state of the Final Cut Suite for years. The lackluster update in '09 coupled w/the great strides Adobe and Avid have made the past 3-4 years had people eyeballing other options for a while. But they waited for Apple because FCP is their preferred platform. FCP X comes out and it lacks many features they need, support for FCP 7 is going up in smoke so the decision to move to another NLE is a pretty easy one.

These are people running businesses and planning out the future of their livelihoods. They can't wait in definitely for Apple to maybe bring out a version of FCP X that is usable. Potential doesn't pay the rent.

econgeek said:

"If you drag two clips into parallel timeline tracks, you can choose Clip->Synchronize Clips. By comparing their audio tracks, the program aligns the clips exactly. Now, each time you select a piece of the upper video track and press the V key (“disable”), you are effectively cutting to what’s on the lower video track."

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No, that's not a multi-camera editing function. That is a very limited work around to edit multiple cameras in a program that doesn't have a multi-camera editing function.

If you go to the bowling alley and they are all out of bowling shoes so you bowl in your socks does that make your socks bowling shoes?


Lethal

LethalWolfe said:

It's not a knee jerk reaction even though it seems like one from the outside looking in. Many people have been unhappy w/the state of the Final Cut Suite for years. The lackluster update in '09 coupled w/the great strides Adobe and Avid have made the past 3-4 years had people eyeballing other options for a while. But they waited for Apple because FCP is their preferred platform. FCP X comes out and it lacks many features they need, support for FCP 7 is going up in smoke so the decision to move to another NLE is a pretty easy one.

These are people running businesses and planning out the future of their livelihoods. They can't wait in definitely for Apple to maybe bring out a version of FCP X that is usable. Potential doesn't pay the rent.

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Well said and completely true. Avid used to be the company that didn't listen to its customers but they have turned that around in the last few years.

The Red Wolf said:

Okay... Apple has never succeeded in the "consumer" gaming market until the iDevices.

<skip>

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That was a very one sided view. You ignore everything else - i.e., dropping XSan, XServes, Java ( although Oracle will take this up ), slow updates of Mac Pro, and now FCPX. This is just a small list of how Apple is moving itself away from Pro markets. I'm sure in time FCPX will have the missing features put in, but these features are needed extremely soon. You forget Apple aren't selling FCP7 anymore ( i.e., new hires - what do they use? )

brianbobcat said:

Why wouldn't users already have FCP7? Who is right now in the market for 7? This wasn't out of no where, for once Apple gave us a preview of the new pro app. Any users not on 7 should've seen the new interface as it was demoed at NAB and gone out and bought the Studio then. You snooze, you loose.

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I'm setting up a new office workstation and a computer lab when I start a new position at a college this fall. Guess what software I was going to purchase and install on these computers? Final Cut Pro. Now if I install FCP-X on these computers, there is no way I can continue to access my FCP7 projects from my personal computer to rework them. I can't buy FCP7 anymore. FCP-X straight up does not work. You tell me the workaround to this time-sensitive "snoozing."