Apple Launching New Final Cut Pro X Marketing Push to Win Back Professionals

[tallscot]

I think the fact they are highlighting a dude using 4-year old FCP 7 versus Premiere Pro CS6 or Avid or Vegas...is amusing.

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Uhm, I don't think Apple is hampered by lack of money.

More likely, Apple is/was hampered by lack of engineers. I'd argue that this marketing push is a signal that Apple has the resources to develop iOS, OS X, applications, and pro applications simultaneously, amongst other things.

Some people probably don't remember when engineers on OS X were shifted to finish iOS.

I do.

Compared to that era, Apple is running on all cylinders.

Based on the quality control of their software and hardware over the last 3 years, I'd say they are stretched too thin.

Final Cut Pro would have never become as popular as it did with the same quality control of Apple 2013. No way.

 

[Michael Scrip]

And what will you do once Adobe no longer meets your needs by discontinuing a software tool you rely on or removing features that make your workflow better? Isn't it nice to know that Apple (and Avid and other companies) might have the tools you need? Shouldn't you at least consider exploring other software tools, or will you just call it quits once Adobe fails to meet your needs?

Adobe makes their money from selling software. They pretty much have to make their customers happy in order to make money. It would be suicide if Adobe did something crazy to piss off their professional customers. Those professional customers are Adobe's lifeblood.

Apple, on the other hand, makes most of their money from iPhones and iPads. And you've already seen what they did to their professional customers.

Oh Adobe isn't always a saint... but I'd bet on them being around and catering to professionals for a long time.

Apple has already burned a few bridges...

 

[HelveticaRoman]

Yeh right, just until Apple decide they're fed up with it again.

 

[spiffers]

Apple focuses on the iOS ecosystem, its where they make the money. There is no money in pro stuff.
iOS devices only sell good because they are perfect for consuming content. No content, no iOS ecosystem. And no pro equipment, no content.
Apple has to release new Pro Macs, as well as retina screens for the pros, because right now, developing for iOS as well as creating content, is just a pain in the ass. I need screens and hardware, and Im not the only one.

 

[rGiskard]

This marketing campaign is worthless without a new Mac Pro.

Apple focuses on the iOS ecosystem, its where they make the money. There is no money in pro stuff.
iOS devices only sell good because they are perfect for consuming content. No content, no iOS ecosystem. And no pro equipment, no content.
Apple has to release new Pro Macs, as well as retina screens for the pros, because right now, developing for iOS as well as creating content, is just a pain in the ass. I need screens and hardware, and Im not the only one.

Exactly. Without computers that are as amazing as it's iGadgets, Apple is destined for mediocrity. If all the pros are running Windows, then iOS is going to be an afterthought to Android development.

What makes this so frustrating is that a new Mac Pro represents a very tiny fraction of Apple's cash horde. Even if Apple don't make much profit from a Mac Pro, they benefit from its presence in the professional content creation community.

 

[alfistas]

Are there any professionals left still using macs? Too little, too late IMHO.

 

[invalidname]

Apple has over 72,000 employees... what are they all doing?

Helping retail customers choose iPhone cases, and upselling AppleCare.

 

[deconstruct60]

Apple focuses on the iOS ecosystem, its where they make the money. There is no money in pro stuff.

It isn't so much the "money" as growth. There are profits in the software and hardware they sell in the "pro" space. The bigger issue is just how many super-mega TV and Film productions houses are there? Not many.

It is actually an issue that is impacting Avid. As much as some folks ranted about how Avid was going to see a giant tidal wave of money because some huge wave were all leaving FCP right now .... it really hasn't happened.

iOS devices only sell good because they are perfect for consuming content. No content, no iOS ecosystem. And no pro equipment, no content.

This is nonsense. iOS device media content is completely agnostic to what processed the content into that format. There lots of shops using Windows and Linux and other OS to process media content that gets distributed to and played on iOS devices.

This is an empty "leverage" point that is trotted out on Apple and which doesn't buy much of anything.

It s additional profits and revenues for Apple when this is done on OS X Macs but it isn't neccesarily any more than Macs were necessarily to host iPods. ( the giant adoption wave for the iPod occured after Apple didn't make them bound to Macs. ). iOS devices are computer peers of the OS X Macs ( don't technically need one for back-ups , iTunes , Apps/OS updates, etc. )

The whole Apple empire isn't going to collapse if there is no highly niched Mac Pro box and even more highly niched features added to some software.

 

[lin2log]

However a move to FCPX at this point is an impossibility due to still missing features.

LOL... watch... if you ask those red-herring masters to actually list so much as ONE of those alleged, ominous "missing features" you oddly never hear from them again. OR they completely embarrass themselves with the answer they give. It never fails.

Herewith asked.

Can't wait to see which it will be, but I sure can guess!

Well??

 

[kirky29]

Lets not forget Aperture, Apple

 

[yoak]

The idea that "professionals" abandoned Final Cut X is pretty silly and unsupported.

When it came out, Adobe launched a campaign to rally After Effects users to go and claim to be "professionals" (who work out of their basement right?) and bash FCP X.

It was very successful, but it was nothing more then fanboyism.

Anyone who is a serious video editor recognizes that FCP X is a huge upgrade.

Anyone who continues to bash it is either a fanboy who has never used it, or not a professional.

Seriously, this is just a rehashing of the 1980s era "macs are easier to use therefore they are toys!" campaign.

Every single time I've seen a "professional" complaining about it, it has turned out that they never used it, or are long time AE users, or are people who, frankly, don't even understand what video editing really is, let alone get paid to do it.

EVERY SINGLE TIME.

But, like the mindless fandroids who always list all the Apple devices they claim to own before going off on a completely irrational tirade bashing Apple for everything they can think of, no matter how silly.... the people who insist on bashing FCP X always claim to be "professionals".

And for the same reasons- the fanboys think that claiming to own apple products means they aren't mindlessly bashing Apple.

And these never-got-a-job-editing-video "professionals" think that they can claim to be "power users" by claiming to be "professionals".

They aren't.

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Try editing a project on it. Maybe one you've already done in premiere so you already know how you want it cut together, and have the assets. That way you're just focusing on achieving the cuts you want in FCP.

I think you'll be surprised at how, after a few minutes of getting used to it, you find yourself trying things you didn't intend to do just because it's so easy.

In fact, its like the dorito challenge: I challenge you to cut together a project you've already cut-- and not make a bunch of changes!

FCPX makes it so easy, you end up getting into the flow of editing in a way that I've never experienced.... even FCP 7 interrupts that flow by making you think about the software itself.

Eh?
I think you got my post wrong. I was saying how fast I thought FCPX was to work with compared to premier. At least that was what I was trying to say. I agree with you completely. You can really focus on the editing and the technicalities don't get in the way. I have been using Premiere more than FCPX in the last year due to a clients request, but I think FCPX is much faster and the future.

EDIT: I re-read my original post and can see how it could be miss understood. I changed IT to FCPX, as IT could be taken for Premiere, not FCPX as I meant.

 

[Liquorpuki]

Apple focuses on the iOS ecosystem, its where they make the money. There is no money in pro stuff.
iOS devices only sell good because they are perfect for consuming content. No content, no iOS ecosystem. And no pro equipment, no content.
Apple has to release new Pro Macs, as well as retina screens for the pros, because right now, developing for iOS as well as creating content, is just a pain in the ass. I need screens and hardware, and Im not the only one.

There's money in pro software but Apple gets most of its profit from hardware. Its monetization strategy for the past few years has been to use cheap software to drive hardware sales. Pro software isn't cheap, it costs a lot to develop and it's used by a small submarket rather than the masses. This runs counter to Apple's monetization strategy so it's not a surprise to me that they don't care about pro users.

This is why Apple would rather push a cheap platform like Garageband than release the next version of Logic. Or why they're willing to ditch pro users if they can replace them with casual users (what they tried to do with FCPX, except it didn't work). Or why they've dropped the price of all their "Pro" suites (Logic, FCP, Aperture, etc) well below original market value, minimizing their sw profit margins unnecessarily. They just want the casual masses to be able to buy the software. If they do, they'll also have to buy an iMac/iDevice to run it and Apple gets paid.

 

[daverso]

Really? Everyone in your industry has moved on already? Oh, wait, by "all" you really mean that you and some others have moved on. I guess those professionals in the LA Times article don't count!

I think we're looking at opposite ends of the spectrum here. You're saying very little, I said 'all' (I think you took me too literally, but it was a bad choice of words either way I suppose).

Truth is, it's probably somewhere in-the middle. But regardless, it's people leavin, and a pretty solid amount for that matter. I think the bulk of the exodus happened in the first few month, and thats because the product on launch day was not up to par. You know it's rough when Apple issues full refunds... That was a big momentum shift for FCP's competitors, and they took advantage of it, and many professionals took that as a sign to change software.

 

[Oh-es-Ten]

Work in environment with six editing suites and still can't understand how FCPX can cater for multi-user environments at present - echoing the sentiments of an earlier poster about this.. We can't just work with attached storage.. Gigabit ethernet support is a must.

Personally I like FCPX, but we may be forced to Premiere come upgrade time unless they can address the management of the "fileless" structure Projects and Events.

 

[devilbond]

Please take me back honey, I promise I won't upend your career again, honest.

 

[bonehead]

Yes. But only over fiber using XSAN. (But you wouldn't want anything but fiber in that case anyway...)

See here.

http://images.apple.com/finalcutpro/docs/Final_Cut_Pro_X_Xsan_Best_Practices.pdf

Thanks for the link. This is a pull from the first page:

"The first scenario sets up Final Cut Pro X for multiple users who will share a single project and Event, with editing access limited to one user at a time. This is essentially a “check-in/check out” workflow—for example, two editors on day and night shifts, or an offline editor who hands off the rough cut to another editor in a finishing suite.
The second scenario sets up Final Cut Pro X for two workstations sharing the same media simultaneously. For example, one workstation might act as the media-importing station and as a secondary edit station. The other workstation might be used for editing only. In this scenario, both workstations can access and edit the same original imported media stored on the SAN volume."

The first scenario is a non-starter for multi-user workflows but I would be interested to hear more detail from people who work in a shared project, multi-user environment.

 

[rick3000]

This plays into the biggest issue Apple has which is that no one trusts Apple anymore to provide a supported, regularly updated editing system. They had just begin to win over Avid users, when they came out with FCPX and destroyed it all. They also have issues with multi-user systems, and no longer provide a completely integrated suite for professionals.

 

[macs4nw]

If they want to win back professionals, maybe they could update their workstation product... oh.... ever? The Mac Pro has had nothing beyond speed bumps since its release. Meanwhile other product lines have gone through three, four, or five iterations. Seems like a waste to spend this much on advertising instead of actually paying attention to the market segment's needs.

I get that making durable, reliable, high-speed high-capacity workstations for creative professionals isn't as "sexy" or "cool" as making tiny, shiny mobile devices for teens and college students, but you would think that Apple would have something more than "neglectful contempt" for a market that, until the last couple years at least, has always been solidly on their side.

Well put, and I might add: a market that was once "their bread and butter".

 

[tekboi]

Apple needs to do alot more to win back the professional market IMO.


They can start with updating their MacPros more often and with decent specs.

 

[Menneisyys2]

Update your Mac Pro's for your pro customers

...and don't drop the 17" MBP...

 

[batlogic]

Adobe cares?

I have read the whole tread and this Apple doesn't care is over and over. Seems many of this people forgot, "Adobe stopped making Premiere for the Mac".(2003) It went Xp only. I had to move to Fcp. Don't think Adobe wouldn't do this again.

 

[Atlantico]

Anecdotally, Apple's policy on pro hardware (i.e. towers with expandability) drove me to seek hardware elsewhere.

In the end OS X isn't all that hot these days compared to even Windows 8.

Windows runs all the Adobe apps just the same and I have all the expandability I want. Build quality is as good as you want it in a Peezoid tower and it is not prohibitively expensive - though not necessarily cheap either - I had some doubts before whether leaving the Mac after almost 20 years was the right thing..

and then I saw the 'even thinner' iMac, I knew I had made the right decision.

So long Apple.

 

[designaholic]

I tried the new version last year, hated it. I use Premiere for my all film stuff now, it just feels right.

 

[the8thark]

Misleading and incorrect article title. No one else cares but I thought I had to say it. Many professionals do use FCPX. And they love it. Fact. Apple just wants to get even more to use it. Simple.

 

[UNMENINU]

This means a new Mac Pro is coming.