Apple Refocusing Final Cut Pro? Jobs says "Next Release Will Be Awesome"

[kingtj]

Fine!

Honestly, I look at things this way: If they really "dumb down" FCP, that will be a bad thing - and obviously, real pro users should switch products if that happens.

But none of what's been said indicates Apple is trying to make FCP into "another iMovie", so far! It sounds more like Apple realizes FCP is overwhelming for prosumers, and they think they can redo the product so it will be more useful to that crowd, while retaining the functionality the pro users need.

Anyone recall how the "DVD Studio Pro" product handled this? You could tell it to use simple, intermediate or advanced menus - and tailor it to the skill level and complexity desired.

Apple may simply think it's time to drop Final Cut Express as a product, and integrate it into FCP, courtesy of choosing a more "basic" mode in it? This could also mean a price drop so FCP's price point is more in line with what a prosumer can afford -- so a good thing all the way around.

I'm a certified FCP editor and if they dumb down FCP, I'm going Avid.

 

[swissmann]

I have a list of things a mile long that I would like to see fixed and improved in Final Cut. If they make it more friendly to Prosumers great as long as they don't cripple it for the true pros. I've been considering looking for alternatives for a couple of years now. Hopefully this update will be as great as I hope for and come soon to keep me onboard.

 

[HowieBerry]

I'm a certified FCP editor and if they dumb down FCP, I'm going Avid.

Same here. I'm on my way to becoming an Apple Master Trainer, but there's no way I want to work on some dumbed down version of FCP for "prosumers". Time to brush up on my Avid skills.

 

[mastermix]

One thing I hope doesn't happen is a reduction in functionality. To compare to iMovie, while I like the current version, there are some things that I liked about the old version that are missing now.

 

[Anuba]

So they're going to dumb it down for the plebs? great.

They could add an alternative "easy mode" type thing on the side, they obviously aren't going to trash the interface and lose the pro clients. The key phrase here is "appeal to". Appeal to and cater to aren't necessarily the same thing.

As for the person in charge being associated with iMovie, I wouldn't read too much into that. It can be about management skills. The one who cleaned up the Vista mess and made Windows 7 happen was a woman they brought in from the Office team. It resulted in the first Windows version in years that everybody didn't hate.

 

[Staphyl]

SWEET! I can't wait for it now. Hopefully it will be 64bit and really powerful. I emailed Jobs a little bit back about FCP, but never got anything back. I'm a media and video production student and hopefully the next FCS will be epic (and cheaper)

I second this...

Only reason I don't own FCS is because of the price. I had to buy Express instead. Hope they at least give all of the apps 64bit support. Sucks only rendering with 2 threads on an i5 instead of all 4 threads.

 

[meli]

I hope they don't drop Final Cut Express. Unless they offer the new FCP as a stand alone application and priced in the ballpark of Express.

 

[NT1440]

Same here. I'm on my way to becoming an Apple Master Trainer, but there's no way I want to work on some dumbed down version of FCP for "prosumers". Time to brush up on my Avid skills.

Can we at least see what the **** is released before proclaiming it the end of the world guys?

Sheesh.

 

[mike5411]

At first these terse e-mails from Steve Jobs was entertaining. Now they are becoming trite and therefore boring.

 

[0098386]

I really really hope this isn't another move of Apple shifting away from pro and more towards consumer. Their pro stuff is why I still buy their machines and use their OS.

 

[macuserx86]

Game over guys. It's been a nice run, but Apple "Shiny Bullsh*t" Inc. has shifted its focus from the Pro market to much more lucrative "people who actually buy iPads" market.

Hopefully Avid and Lightroom on Windows 7 will fill the void.

 

[PAC88]

"to better fit the majority of its customers"

oh mac.. what the hell is happening to you

 

[HiRez]

Hmm. NOT what most video professionals want to hear (uh, Apple, you do remember it's called Final Cut PRO for a reason, right)?

Now, Final Cut is pretty long in the tooth and is long overdue for a very major overhaul (it still can't handle really basic things like typography or PNG transparency well). But, to say it's going "prosumer" is a big kick in the pants to all the facilities that have dumped their Avid setups and invested deeply in the whole thing, including Compressor farms and Xsans.

It's moves like this that make professionals wary of choosing Apple as a professional tool supplier, and it's why I still (along with witnessing to the buy-and-abandon move they did on Shake) exclusively use After Effects despite having a lot of licensed copies of Motion available around the office.

 

[macklos]

There are some finicky things to make better in FCP but any more prosumer crap will just be that. Why not make iMovie Pro(sumer) and refine and improve FCP and keep it a PRO product!

 

[zedsdead]

All I want is a Final Cut Pro that is completely multi-core aware. It's pathetic that it currently isn't. It is also in dire need of an interface upgrade, which it sounds like it will get.

 

[NoManIsland]

Read the full article on AI

The Mac Rumours article is sensationalist and ignores an important aspect of the story:

http://www.appleinsider.com/article...g_final_cut_studio_apps_to_fit_prosumers.html

I think it is more a case of Apple enhancing Final Cut Express rather than dumbing down Final Cut Pro.

 

[ltcol266845]

Wow... Good thing I've been sticking to Adobe Premiere. Better program, IMO, with better integration across the Creative Suite and cross-platform support are big wins.

 

[Sun Baked]

All I want is a Final Cut Pro that is completely multi-core aware. It's pathetic that it currently isn't. It is also in dire need of an interface upgrade, which it sounds like it will get.

Yep, sounds like Cocoa and a new GUI due in next version.

Really surprised it isn't here yet, since they hinting all the apps were being rewritten as they were trotting Snow Leopard out.

 

[MovieCutter]

Hmm. NOT what most video professionals want to hear (uh, Apple, you do remember it's called Final Cut PRO for a reason, right)?

Well if it were REALLY "Pro", it'd be multithreaded...except it's not. So as a FCP editor for 9 years, I'm pretty pissed to be honest given this terse response to make FCP more consumer friendly. Let them have FCE or iMovie. Leave FCP to the professionals and give us what we deserve since we helped Apple steal 50% of the professional editing market from Adobe and Avid...I think we deserve that much.

 

[charlituna]

They better not dumb down the application like iMovie '08. What about the Pros who rely on Final Cut Pro? Would they be forced to downgrade to a prosumer version? It seems like Apple is not focusing more on prosumers than actual pros, evidenced by what's happening to the Macbook Pro line.

i can't help but wonder if it will be a little like what I saw in, I think it was Garageband. there are very common features that are turned on by default and advanced features you can activate in the preferences.

or how about this. one common interface (basically making it one master app) with the most commonly used features present (editing totals, number of tracks, compressor formats etc) and 'plugins' to add more features (more codecs, more tools, using more tracks, fancier transitions, maybe better blu-ray mapping, the 'extras' sdk, some of the stuff lost when Shake was killed etc). so long as the total package isn't more than what we pay now, I think a lot of folks would go for it. especially if you could buy the 'standard' for say $600 and the 'master collection' for the $1000 of now.

 

[HowieBerry]

Can we at least see what the **** is released before proclaiming it the end of the world guys?

Sheesh.

I don't seem to recall doing that. As someone who uses FCP every day as a professional and as a Pro Apps trainer, my livelihood depends on it remaining one of the top professional editing programmes in industry. So it may not matter to some people, but it actually matters to me what happens with the development.

 

[deconstruct60]

....but isn't there a lot more to consider than just how many copies are sold? What about the fact that high end video production companies also buy a lot of hardware?

Unless they buy tons of hardware to run FCE then they don't by a lot of hardware. The number of copies sold is coupled to hardware sales. Perhaps not 1-to-1 , but is coupled. Some will say it is fewer units but priced higher. If the software multiple is high enough it is still a lower total value in systems sold.

Being a standard for the film industry also means a ton of film schools will buy your computers.

Again unless need every corner case pro feature to do instruction can actually deploy more stations to more students if the software/hardware systems are more reasonably priced.


One track they could possible be on that somewhat aligns with this rumors is to restructure the application so that easier to deploy an "Express" version from the Pro version. Instead of having things present but turned off, they just wouldn't be present. The pro version would have more stuff bundled in.

Again if also flipping from Carbon to Cocoa-64 at same time perhaps wouldn't hurt to roll out an Express version first. At that point work out all the kinks in the core product with a larger, more tolerant user group. You then later deploy a Pro version on a much more solid foundation (that should make high end users more happy. At least the ones that are not impatient.). In other words, incrementally build a more robust replacement instead of "big bang" release it. Some of the pro folks could snag the express version ( likely many already do for machines at home. ) and drop feedback too.

In essence that is what happened with iMovie only took two releases to roll out. It is still likely to take two releases for Final Cut also.


It would lead to a longer cycle till got full Pro replacement, but likely would have better user experiences along the way. ( and not so bad the support staff went down. Releasing large , complex software that isn't ready for prime time is when need bigger support staff. )


P.S. It is probably worth noting though that there is more to video now (and in the future) than movies. There is going to be more distribution channels that don't require all of the post processing that movies do. Very similar to prosumer and pro digital SLR cameras. There are pro photographers leveraging Nikon D300s cameras to create images to make a living off of. It is not required to be using a D3x to be a Pro.
For photography is the image and whether someone is paying your living that really means Pro. It is not defined by utilizing the most expensive tools possible.

 

[NT1440]

I don't seem to recall doing that. As someone who uses FCP every day as a professional and as a Pro Apps trainer, my livelihood depends on it remaining one of the top professional editing programmes in industry. So it may not matter to some people, but it actually matters to me what happens with the development.

And yours will stop working when a new version is out because.....

 

[puckhead193]

if it does go consume I'm screwed or I"m not upgrading... Avid or premier. I refuse to learn Sony Vegas.

 

[Durendal]

Oh great, they put the toolbag who wrecked iMovie in charge of Final Cut. Wonderful. I absolutely HATE iMovie 08/09. The interface is bloody terrible. It's a step back in almost every respect. I still use iMovie 06 and will continue to do so until it simply stops working with later versions of OS X.

So Final Cut, which has a heavy foothold in the pro video industry, is going to get dumbed down. BRILLIANT MOVE APPLE! Put that 'tard in charge and screw your pro user market in the endless attempt to appeal to people with double digit IQs!