Apple Posts Final Cut Pro X FAQ, Promises Updates

[cracker9]

what's the big deal

I currently do a project about once a month not a big pro or anything, and have been using final cut pro for years. So what i'll finish my current project in FCP 7 then switch to X? big deal. just glad it's out love what im seeing in the work flow organization of this new editing power house. trust me guys it will all work out in the end.

 

[kissmo]

Too much noise on this release.
Too much stress, too much anger.

I am not a pro using Final Cut Studio.
People are way over stressed about this launch.

While I agree with the PROs that there are too many missing features to a veteran app like final cut pro I think there is way too much noise about this release.

People screaming on forums that they will leave final cut for other platforms are just vocal.
Wouldn't it be easier to keep using the same old FCS 3 suite and wait for a while until they release updates?
Then, if nothing good comes out, move to another platform.

I am sure their talent can be put to work quite fast on AVID or on Premiere!
I do understand it is hard to be parted from a piece of software with which you had "a symbiotic relationship". But screaming will not do too much.
For sure Apple will not change everything back.

Just WAIT! Have patience. I know there are money involved in this.

But think this way: waiting a little for the fog to clear out, check how updates on FCS will work out and then make a decision to stay or move to other options.

Is it that hard people????

 

[dethmaShine]

If you're going to do something, do it right. Don't go halfassed and say "We'll fix it later"

Fix?

Do you realize what it takes to re-write that kind of a professional app? I'm no way saying that Apple doesn't deserve the backlash, but think about it in another way. A complete re-write of a professional app:

1. Takes a lot of time and resources.

2. It's not that Apple is not giving refunds or portraying that they are not going to add the features.

3. FCP X represents the future of VideoEditing from the point of view of Apple. They have shipped this product so that the pros can test it and see whats there's in it for them. No professional is going to start using it as the main app for their workflow. I cannot believe it and I won't. I'm still not using Xcode 4 for my stuff cause it really does suck. I'll wait for it to become worthwhile and start using it then. This app represents a learning curve for these video experts who will spend their time and resources to learn the future of VideoEditing as conceived by Apple. If they cannot, they move on; but I'm pretty sure 95% of them will stick with Apple. It's not like FCP7 just got deleted from their computers.

Lets see where this goes.

 

[hob]

"not yet"

"not yet" means they shouldn't have pulled FCS3. That was the worst part about this whole thing.

 

[jmpnop]

Let's say that a year from now, FCPX has become a comparatively huge success with consumers interested in movie editing. Given the price and the features that is probably not too much of a stretch.

Shouldn't Apple then spend the most time supporting these users instead of the pros? Seems like the smart thing to do.

Your idea is great, market a consumer application as Pro application. A pro application is for professionals, not consumers. If they wanted to make a consumer version, they've should've called it iMovie Pro or something...

 

[JesterJJZ]

Can I...?
Not Yet...

Can I...?
Not Yet...

Can I...?
Not Yet...

Can I...?
Not Yet...

Can I...?
Not Yet...

Can I...?
Not Yet...

Can I...?
Not Yet...

Wow...

FCPX = Fail

 

[vjl323]

It's not entirely clear. You can't charge for updates on the App Store. So Apple would have to put out an entirely new FCP app in the app store to charge people. Apple hasn't run into this yet. I'd guess that the next major FCP update will be free, and given the wording of the FAQ, I'd say that's pretty likely.

arn

I've been wondering if/when Apple would deal with upgrades via any of the app stores - purchased upgrades I mean. I've seen some weird wording [and taken screenshots] when I've gifted an app to someone but attempting to purchase it for myself, after an update's been released - the wording on the error suggests they may have the ability to charge for updates. Or rather, upgrades.

It would be nice to know if multicam would be a free update or require a paid upgrade [through a new upgrade feature of the app store or an entirely new version ala iWork/iLife]. The wording, "major release" makes it sound like it will be a long wait for multicam support. At the very least, the summer update doesn't look like it will include multicam support. That's a bit of a bummer for me, personally.

/vjl/

 

[macsmurf]

Your idea is great, market a consumer application as Pro application. A pro application is for professionals, not consumers. If they wanted to make a consumer version, they've should've called it iMovie Pro or something...

So you're saying that Apple shouldn't cater to the bulk of their FCP X users because of the name?

I'm not saying that Apple is not in the wrong here. I'm calling BS. I don't believe that Apple will take professionals very seriously even though they say they will.

 

[JesterJJZ]

A case of major good news in this FAQ is that they are promising that FCP7 will work with Lion!

That's the only good news we've had in a while.

 

[writingdevil]

... I'm not a video editor, but I've followed the release closely...."

this is the problem with some sites, that everybody and their aunt has an opinion, even if they have ZERO real knowledge of what is going on. i guess it's a way for people to feel like they are contributing, but honestly, reading reviews, other peoples comments, and then trying to pass some judgement on a product out of their league, just takes up space, doesn't contribute to any technical context, and seems like a school research paper.

"The best equivalent is that when Lion is released, it turns out it doesn't work with current Mac formatted hard drives. You have to reformat everything in a new format."

this is not even a reasonable equivalent. lion is a system that most people, not all, but most, will upgrade to rather quickly, though some will wait for inevitable bugs to be worked out. fcp is a very specialized product, a small percent compared to lion users. and fcp 7 is usable, will be usable, and doesn't require reformatting to be used in lion.

 

[vjl323]

"not yet" means they shouldn't have pulled FCS3. That was the worst part about this whole thing.

That's the big issue I have. I actually *like* FCPX, for the features it does have and the pure speed it performs with. But the lack of many options that FCP7 folks are used to, make me a bit nervous. I can see pro editors [and even semi-pros] wanting to still be able to use and purchase FCP7 for new machines. If you run a company that is growing and need to buy more FCP7 seats, how can you? Perhaps FCP7 is EOL because it won't run under Lion?

If I were Apple, I would have named this Final Cut Express X. It *does* have some awesome features, but they haven't caught up to what they currently...err..used to offer in FCP7. Keep FCP7 around; lets the Pros play with FCEX knowing that in another year FCEX will become FCPX and be feature complete.

/vjl/

 

[Parystec]

Hey I was looking forward to the upgrade now it looks like a downgrade. Maybe this is a new direction for apple ? They have done everything else

 

[manu chao]

They should have just waited till these features where ready and release Final Cut Pro X then, why they wanted to get it out before Lion, who knows?

No, you have to release at some point to get feedback and get third-party support going (releasing plugins for beta software is just not working, developers don't like to create plugins for a software that has no fixed APIs yet and one they cannot make money with yet).
And FCP X is clearly finished enough that a lot of people say they really like using it, just that it has a significant number of missing features still. But these are features that affect some people, by far not all people. Better to get those people who don't need the missing features going.

You see if Apple had done nothing else but declared that FCP 7 will still be available until FCP X reaches a set of defined feature parity (and released this FAQ and this assurance that FCP 7 will work under Lion, ie, likely for about two years on new machines and a current OS), a lot of the comments like 'Apple is cutting us off at the knee' would have been baseless.

 

[Matt T]

I don't really understand the backlash with FCPX. Wasn't it a fairly well known fact this release would be a major change? If it doesn't have the features you need to make the switch, then don't switch - simple.

A friend of mine is comparing it to the OS 9 > OS X transition, which I think is a fairly good analogy. OS 9 was stable and well established; OS X, being a complete rebuild, was a big change and a little rough around the edges. I think Apple chose to release FCPX now to help make the transition as smooth as possible in the long run - for people who need FCP7, it still works well and will be supported by Apple; for those who would like to play around with a new version, we have FCPX, which will be updated as time goes by and eventually be ready for the majority of the userbase to switch over to.

 

[writingdevil]

..... Is this whole debacle sounds like it may end up in class action lawsuit land.

huh? class action lawsuit over what? if you don't want it, don't buy it. if you bought it, get a refund if it isn't what you want.

understandably some editors expected everything to be in place when it was released. they were not. apple is laying out what the plans are, including general time lines. there is no need for a specific timeline as at this point they may not know how long it will take to do the work.

some of the post houses i work with are buying it and getting started on it (with editors who are interested and pick up new tech approaches pretty quickly) and will certainly not switch for some time, as it is a new way of thinking editorially.

some other houses are not buying it and will continue with fcp 7 on lion, and see how things play out down the road. they have said they know they are sacrificing getting up to speed on it but that is their approach.

 

[arn]

need FCP7, it still works well and will be supported by Apple

I don't believe that's true. At least, you can't buy it anymore. So your business can't hire another FCP 7 editor without trying to find a copy on ebay or pirating it.

arn

 

[yayitsezekiel]

well FCP 7 works great for me...I guess I'll be sticking with that for now

Shame Apple couldn't have thought this through

 

[jmpnop]

So you're saying that Apple shouldn't cater to the bulk of their FCP X users because of the name?

I'm not saying that Apple is not in the wrong here. I'm calling BS. I don't believe that Apple will take professionals very seriously even though they say they will.

FCPX is downgrade from FCP7. I don't really see the point of calling it Final Cut Pro since it no long caters the pro market which previous versions did.

 

[manu chao]

Exactly. What would really help would be a roadmap for these updates. And reserving multicam support, which was enjoyed in FCP7, for the next major release is just insulting.

Why? What is point of knowing when multicam support comes? Whether it is in three, six, or nine months? If you need it, just ignore FCP X until the feature arrives, and with ignoring I mean, don't try to shoehorn your multicam projects into FCP X unless you feel that the advantages of FCP X warrant a workaround for your multicam work.

Six months or a year ago, nobody clamoured to have a roadmap as to when exactly FCP X would be released. You know why people want a roadmap? Two reasons:
1) They want to know whether something comes in the foreseeable future (ie, within a year), or much further out (since much further out usually means no firm promise that X comes exactly as promised but rather a vague guide at what is likely to appear).
2) They want to use the new stuff and cannot wait to switch, and like anybody who eagerly awaits something cannot get enough details about the when (that is why we like rumours) and want to plan to be able to switch the moment things are available.

 

[dethmaShine]

I don't believe that's true. At least, you can't buy it anymore. So your business can't hire another FCP 7 editor without trying to find a copy on ebay or pirating it.

arn

There's no question that Apple should put FCP7 for sale in their Online Store. It's a big mistake and the customers may suffer.

 

[odedia]

After all, what more do you want?

The only thing I'm doubtful is the Multi-cam support which might still not be added to FCP X as the FAQs state.

What? the FAQ clearly states that it will be added and is a top priority.

"Does Final Cut Pro X support multicam editing?
Not yet, but it will. Multicam editing is an important and popular feature, and we will provide great multicam support in the next major release."

 

[manu chao]

What strikes me as odd is how many times in that FAQ they say that they understand how important a certain feature is to users. If they undertand that, then why didn't they put it in in the first place?

For crying out loud, anything that works reasonably well (no big bugs) and is feature-complete for a certain subset of your customers is well worth the release for exactly these customers.

Heck, nobody complained that Apple released Keynote before it had 'completed' its office suite. Of course people could not switch from MS Office (read FCP 7) to iWorks (read FCP X) the day Keynote was released because they still needed Excel and Word. Keynote was perfectly usable the day it was released, years before Pages and Numbers.

Yes, Apple needs to make sure that those needing FCP 7 because they are expanding (ie, needing new or additional licences) for stuff FCP X cannot yet do, have a possibility to get those licenses. But that is about the only substantive change Apple has to do. The rest is communication.

 

[GoodWatch]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_3_3 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/533.17.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.0.2 Mobile/8J2 Safari/6533.18.5)

apple haters grinning everywhere

That's what we need, comments like this to keep the myth alive..... If you dare to complain on an Apple product you are a 'hater'. That was 1993 man, now is 2011.

 

[manu chao]

That's probably true, but a lot of people have a lot of legitimate concerns about FCP X.

Does anyone know of ANY update to a piece of software that broke the ability to import files from the immediately preceding version of that software? This seems to me to be unique - and an incredibly bad precedent.

Microsoft Word? Powerpoint? Heck, I can even open the same Word document on two different computers with the same version of Windows and Office and they look different.
Ok, I am half joking but I think you get my point and it is absolutely true that complex documents have a significant risk of not transferring without needing manual repairs from an older version of Word or Powerpoint to a newer one.

But it is absolutely true that there needs to be a solution, even if some of settings get backed in during the conversion. Anybody who wants to re-edit a movie cut in FCP 7 today in say eight years from now, should not have to rely on the hope that his Mac Pro bought six years earlier (the last one to run Lion and thus FCP 7) does not crap out on him.
Of course, keeping FCP 7 running on computers past Lion would solve part of that.

 

[champ01]

"Multicam editing is an important and popular feature, and we will provide great multicam support in the next major release"

Multicam support available in..... 2013???