Apple Reveals 2012 Final Cut Pro X Update with Multichannel Audio Editing, RED Support and More

[thedude121]

We held off here moving over to FCP X just because of it's lack of features. I've edited on FCP for 11 of my 15 yrs. I've installed it and tried a few different things and while it's not bad I'm holding off until they get alot of the "kinks" worked out.

Now for our facility... Thats a different question. With the rumors about the MacPro line being put to pasture, seeing our entire backbone of xServes discontinued, the still birth that Final Cut Server was, the FCP X debacle, and the constantly mentioned "Apple is moving away from the "pro" market, we just can't trust Apple anymore. Like a great many production houses we're looking for something else that can "future proof" us. Avid of course was a natural contender with Adobe not far behind because of it's ease of moving between Premiere/AE etc.

Now enter Autodesk's 2013 Smoke. This will be interesting to see how big an impact this has on the market. For those of us on the fence and totally disillusioned by Apple, this is a really big deal. This is a professional's tool and personally as an editor...I'm actually giddy to get my hands on it. I think this will finally bring Smoke and in some regards Flame to the middle market from the high end boutiques. It was $15000, now it's $3500. And it's laid out like an editor thinks. Just like FCP. In fact you can import FCP, FCPX Avid, Premiere etc.

And those saying you don't need a tower anymore, a stack of Mac mini's or an iMac can do exactly what you need? If that's the case (un-intended pun) then where would I put one of these? http://www.engadget.com/2012/04/12/fusion-io-iofx

Anyways, my coffee fueled 2cents.

 

[knewsom]

Your one of the lucky and un-lucky (Mac Pro problems) ones that feel this way. I teach AE, Maya and FCPX at local college and only have to deal with AE and FCPX with iMacs. They are decent but no way in replacement of even the older 2008s we use for Maya at the college. At work for me its between Mac Pro's, MacBook Pros and BOXX PCs. The MPs outlast the others.

Oh, I'm not saying there's no need for Mac Pros... not at all! I love a Mac Pro, and I'd have one with a ton of expensive gear attached to it and connected to it in a great many ways if I could afford it. Sadly, I cannot, but I could afford a core i7 iMac which has handled everything I've thrown at it with grace - a feature through Color, scenes for a feature via FCP7, tons of short form stuff, Lightroom, Photoshop, and some occasional gaming in Windows. It may not be a Mac Pro, but it's an incredible computer, and one that is absolutely capable of handling professional work. ...especially when you've got a Hackintosh on the network to help with the heavy-lifting with some distributed processing.

 

[MrNomNoms]

What I would love to see is finally a 64bit version of Compressor 4 rather than the 32bit one which is currently shipping.

Btw, would it kill them to add a 'join video' function to Compressor?

 

[adamfilip]

They added Facebook to Aperture, cause, you know, professional photographers need to publish their clients' photographs on their Facebook profiles

(that's why we have iPhoto)

I see no point it using Aperture and iphoto at the same time.
I only use Aperture and the facebook feature, while yes it seems amatureish, I find it useful. and I am a photographer

 

[3282868]

I see no point it using Aperture and iphoto at the same time.
I only use Aperture and the facebook feature, while yes it seems amatureish, I find it useful. and I am a photographer

Then you must be the first

Honestly though, the point is Apple is focusing less on making their proapps "pro" while putting more consumer crap like Facebook into their pro apps. Leave that for iPhoto, Aperture doesn't need Facebook, it needs better integration with professional applications, improved effects and filters, editing, etc. Aperture is a great conduit for Photoshop, et al, but it could be a Photoshop killer if Apple wanted. Sadly, it seems they don't care.

 

[croooow]

A quad-core MacBook Pro or iMac is more than enough power for anything FCPX can throw at it.

Mac Pros aren't needed anymore.

640K ought to be enough for anybody

 

[mozumder]

They added Facebook to Aperture, cause, you know, professional photographers need to publish their clients' photographs on their Facebook profiles

(that's why we have iPhoto)

100% of all professional photographers use Facebook.

That is because 100% of all companies have Facebook.

Any photo editing software that doesn't incorporate Facebook isn't a professional product (the world's largest photo services).

Any video editing software that doesn't incorporate YouTube isn't a professional product (the world's largest video service).

That's just how things are these days, dood.

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BTW I expect cameras to incorporate broadcasting.. facebook/twitter/youtube etc.

Ever have your story scooped by an amateur that posts on twitter before your story is out? This is what media journalists have to deal with.

 

[H. Flower]

uhhhh

 

[michelepri]

Also, the pros complaining about FCP X because it disturbed their workflow, well.. F* em. At this point it's their loss. FCP X is a game changer in industry.

They should have learned to be agile, to toss out their existing workflow, rather than to have been permanently reliant on their older workflow. They should have learned the new FCP X while moving away from FCP 7.

There is no room for conservatism & complacency in a market dominated by an extremely agile & responsive Apple.

Also, Premiere sucks.

They were very agile. Most of them are happy users of Avid now.

 

[handygeek]

Regarding a Mac Pro update: With all of the Thunderbolt-based products announced today at NAB, I have to wonder if we'll be pleasantly surprised soon.

 

[mBox]

Okay, we're ready for these updates as quickly as Apple can roll them out.

Haha well we just got 10.0.4. I havent even updated all the computers just in case something goes wrong.
Remember in the "professional" world, you never ever update during crunch time

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Regarding a Mac Pro update: With all of the Thunderbolt-based products announced today at NAB, I have to wonder if we'll be pleasantly surprised soon.

Curious as well but what about the PCI speed? Has it been doubled? Last I heard/read it was 4X. I need 8X and higher

 

[michelepri]

About RED users

If anyone worked for be and got a RED system, I would ask him/her to justify the advantages compared to a Canon DSLR or pay back the difference and make up for low light performance.

If that's all FCP can come out with, they're lost. We need to see FCP designers come crying on their knees and ask for forgiveness, then they need mental treatment to figure out why they ever thought normal people would come out with a product like this.

 

[mBox]

If anyone worked for be and got a RED system, I would ask him/her to justify the advantages compared to a Canon DSLR or pay back the difference and make up for low light performance.

If that's all FCP can come out with, they're lost. We need to see FCP designers come crying on their knees and ask for forgiveness, then they need mental treatment to figure out why they ever thought normal people would come out with a product like this.

That's a little harsh Im not gonna get into the technical side of RED vs Canon but I can assure you most of us RED users dont have a problem with low-light.
Now the comment about FCP (or did you mean Apple developers and FCPX?) is a bit harsh dont you think?
Come crying to their knees, really?
And then your remark that they have some kinda of disability (normal people) is a bit of a stretch?
How about you put together your two-cents and all the nay-sayers two cents and create your own NLE.
Lets see how far you get

 

[jonnysods]

Wow, i downloaded the demo today as I'm selling my copy of FCP7 and it has changed a ton! Phew, it's going to take me a bit to get used to it!

 

[Boisv]

YES!!! I am loving FCPX more and more.

Apple did a horrible job of launching this program, but man are they saving face. So far nearly every major complaint has been addressed, and it hasn't even been a year. This is really good news for the video community.

 

[mBox]

Wow, i downloaded the demo today as I'm selling my copy of FCP7 and it has changed a ton! Phew, it's going to take me a bit to get used to it!

Check out the following links:

http://www.kenstone.net/fcp_homepage/fcp_homepage_index.html

http://www.dingdingmusic.com/DingDing/FCPx1.html

The "How it works" was free at one time but now its PayPal.
Its worth it.
There is also an awesome $40 tutorial from Ripple Training:

http://www.rippletraining.com/categ...-products/final-cut-pro-10-core-training.html

Have fun and ask anything

 

[Boisv]

They were very agile. Most of them are happy users of Avid now.

Not true. Most of them are happy users of... Final Cut Pro 7.

With all of the yelling and crying and fist pounding being done over FCPX, with all of these so-called "professionals" promising to switch to Avid and never look back, the truth is that most users haven't switched. And rightfully so. It's too soon to switch. Professionals know that switching NLEs for a studio costs thousands of dollars. You don't make those kinds of decisions quickly, based on knee-jerk fanboy reactions to a version 1 new release. You wait. You research. You see what Apple's reaction will be.

And yes, in the end, many professionals will switch to either Avid or Premier. Both are outstanding programs, as are FCP7 and FCPX. Many professionals will also adopt FCPX. But professionals make these decisions carefully, with tight budgets in mind.

 

[WRP]

It's a sad day for me.

After years of working professionally on FCP and AVID and mocking Premiere for being a toy, the tide has turned.

Shame on you Apple. For announcing that you will be spending the year adding functionality that you ALREADY HAD YEARS AGO to your "professional" NLE. Every competitor worth a damn has these things along with Apple themselves for a very long time. Is the architecture of FCP X amazing? Yup. Is it practical to use in an environment where you never know what you will be cutting, for who, length, etc? Nope. That means it isn't professional grade.

When we get CS6 at work I will begrudgingly start all new projects in Premiere from here on out and finally kick FCP7 aside for NLEing purposes (at least for the foreseeable future). It's a shame really, it feels like the end of an era.

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But professionals make these decisions carefully, with tight budgets in mind.

Software choices have nothing to do with budgets. We use what works and what we know will help us get the job done. When FCS or CS6 can get paid for with a day or twos work, finances have negligible effects on what we decide to go with. Sure, if you are retrofitting a 100 seat office it's a different story but most production houses aren't that big. And the ones that are are usually using smoke or avid.

 

[dagger01]

I thought dagger meant $24,000. But although a RED EPIC is twice that, a RED Scarlet is in that range when equipped.

The original RED One was $24K in a bared bones rig.

Keep in mind though that these price are VERY cheap compared to an ARRI Alexa, which has half the resolution, and is three time the size and weight.

He didn't put a currency sign in there, and when referencing digital cinema cameras' resolution that's done in 'K', referring to the image width in pixels. Yes, the Epic and One are the pricier models, but if you compare to others in the same quality range the RED cameras are significantly cheaper.

 

[michelepri]

That's a little harsh Im not gonna get into the technical side of RED vs Canon but I can assure you most of us RED users dont have a problem with low-light.
Now the comment about FCP (or did you mean Apple developers and FCPX?) is a bit harsh dont you think?
Come crying to their knees, really?
And then your remark that they have some kinda of disability (normal people) is a bit of a stretch?
How about you put together your two-cents and all the nay-sayers two cents and create your own NLE.
Lets see how far you get

It was a little harsh, I apologize, I didn't mean it so seriously. I know RED is excellent, and you're right, this is no place for Canon VS RED. My personal preference goes to Canon, but it's personal. As for FCP, I think Apple did the wrong thing, and with total disrespect for all of their users. I also think FCP is way below the level of competition. However, I didn't say disability. Let's make that clear. I just don't think that the people that took those decisions are fit for their jobs. Mentally they are probably fine for driving cars or selling tissues at traffic lights, but it's not normal thinking for software designing at this level.

 

[mBox]

It's a sad day for me.

After years of working professionally on FCP and AVID and mocking Premiere for being a toy, the tide has turned.

Shame on you Apple. For announcing that you will be spending the year adding functionality that you ALREADY HAD YEARS AGO to your "professional" NLE. Every competitor worth a damn has these things along with Apple themselves for a very long time.

Oh no dont go Its cool. Just keep in touch and help others that need helping during their switch
Remember, FCPX will always be there to pick you up when you need it

When we get CS6 at work I will begrudgingly start all new projects in Premiere from here on out and finally kick FCP7 aside for NLEing purposes (at least for the foreseeable future). It's a shame really, it feels like the end of an era.

It was an end of the legacy for most of us years ago but we still use it to date and it still works.

Its only over when you say its over...

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It was a little harsh, I apologize, I didn't mean it so seriously. I know RED is excellent, and you're right, this is no place for Canon VS RED. My personal preference goes to Canon, but it's personal. As for FCP, I think Apple did the wrong thing, and with total disrespect for all of their users. I also think FCP is way below the level of competition. However, I didn't say disability. Let's make that clear. I just don't think that the people that took those decisions are fit for their jobs. Mentally they are probably fine for driving cars or selling tissues at traffic lights, but it's not normal thinking for software designing at this level.

Haha Im sure a lot of FCP users would have loved to be in that room when they finalized the decision
Look you dont like it thats cool, but a lot of us it works and it works well.
Just so you know, its an option now not a way of life or religion like some folks deem it to be.
I was like that years ago with 3D and it nearly killed me.
I will use what works and I will abuse it till it dont work for me no more

 

[charlituna]

Yes, one does. When it comes to video, whether it's just encoding, or rendering 3D motion graphics stuff, you need every cycle, every megabyte of RAM, every ounce of power you can get, and you could still use more.

.

I'll be sure to tell my boss to demand that Fox get us Mac Pros immediately because there's no way our iMacs and Unix farm could possibly do the job. That must be why we haven't put out FX for 200 tv show episodes and 15 movies in the past 2 years.

thank you for setting that straight for us.

 

[mBox]

I'll be sure to tell my boss to demand that Fox get us Mac Pros immediately because there's no way our iMacs and Unix farm could possibly do the job. That must be why we haven't put out FX for 200 tv show episodes and 15 movies in the past 2 years.

thank you for setting that straight for us.

Well that isnt playing fair. Hey if your post-house can live with iMacs thats great. We cant convince our corp to go the same route due to the following:
if the screen dies what now.
if the hard-drive dies what now.
if the ram dies what now.
where do I plug my HBA for CUBIX PCI Expander?
where do I plug my...ugh never mind

Dont get me wrong, I actually did a stint consultant job for an upcoming cel animation facility and got them convinced on iMacs for the grunts and MacPros for After Effects suported by XServes for network.
Their deal didnt go thru but I did the leg work and yes the iMac (this was years ago so it was the lower end ones) was good enough for the pencil and color filler guys.
We want a choice and most of us want something similar or better than the Mac Pro here

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He didn't put a currency sign in there, and when referencing digital cinema cameras' resolution that's done in 'K', referring to the image width in pixels. Yes, the Epic and One are the pricier models, but if you compare to others in the same quality range the RED cameras are significantly cheaper.

Just to add, Black Magic threw in their own 2.5K Digital Camera into the ring.
Looks promising and you get a copy of Resolve 9 and I think a DeckLink card.
I could be wrong about the card.

Oops no DeckLink just Resolve and UltraScope.

http://www.blackmagic-design.com/products/blackmagiccinemacamera/

 

[michelepri]

[/COLOR]Haha Im sure a lot of FCP users would have loved to be in that room when they finalized the decision
Look you dont like it thats cool, but a lot of us it works and it works well.
Just so you know, its an option now not a way of life or religion like some folks deem it to be.
I was like that years ago with 3D and it nearly killed me.
I will use what works and I will abuse it till it dont work for me no more [/QUOTE]

True. It's a tool and not a way of life. I agree.

 

[Boisv]

Is it practical to use in an environment where you never know what you will be cutting, for who, length, etc? Nope. That means it isn't professional grade.

If you know the program, it actually does this just fine.

Software choices have nothing to do with budgets. We use what works and what we know will help us get the job done. When FCS or CS6 can get paid for with a day or twos work, finances have negligible effects on what we decide to go with. Sure, if you are retrofitting a 100 seat office it's a different story but most production houses aren't that big. And the ones that are are usually using smoke or avid.

My point is that professionals, whether they're working alone or in a 100+ seat suite, make educated decisions based on their needs, not knee-jerk fanboy reactions to a product launch. By all means, use what works for you and what is right for the job. Every decision is weighed out in cost vs benefit.

And even you gave a budget consideration when you said that it would be paid off in a week or two. Of course it isn't a realistic budget consideration, since most video professionals can't afford to not eat for two weeks and only pay half of their bills for the month.

For most professionals, large or small, it doesn't make sense to switch NLEs at the drop of a hat. In fact, it doesn't really make sense to DROP NLEs at all. I always suggest people add to their toolset, not drop things from it. My best advice? Learn everything. Learn all you can.