Apple Updates Final Cut Pro X, Motion, and Compressor Alongside New Pro Marketing Push

[DesterWallaboo]

This is great news!

As a pro using FCPX. It's great to see all these updates (now at 8!) in the last 2 years.

I can honestly say, after being initially skeptical at NAB when it was released, FCPX is the fastest NLE on the market. I can get to the heart of the story and really play around with the edit. It truly is the future of editing.


-------------------
(3.4GHZ Core i7 iMac, 32GB Ram, 3TB Fusion, 680MX 2GB NVIDIA, R4 Pegasus RAID) x2

Show us your professional demo reel.

----------

...and still no worky with Xsan/Stornext or other SANs. "Pro" lololol.

Prosumer maybe. Homeworking freelancer maybe. Actual post houses? All moved/moving to Premiere Pro or back to AVID.

This is a HUGE problem in a studio, and one of the biggest factors in our dumping FCP as our editor.

----------

Same here... As a pro, FCP X handles red 4k better and faster than any other program. Saves me loads of time and probably an entire employee if I was using premiere or avid.

People cut RED on FCPX?

----------

I'm a film/video pro and love FCPX.

It's a matter of time before the competing applications about-face and copy the FCPX interface. It's far more "future proof" considering the sea change in computing over the past couple years.

Show us your pro demo reel.

----------

Really the only reason people should still be using FCP 7 is if they're stuck with legacy archives.

At this point every new project should be started with FCP X.

(or if you want to be a comedian you can use Premiere...)

Try doing episodic broadcast work that is shared between multiple workstations on a SAN.... then get back to me.

----------

In my experience, the people having the most trouble with FCPX are those who are still wedded to the old way of editing. I'd like to see a more intuitive tool selection, but otherwise I'm thrilled with how quickly I can create and export projects. One thing I'd like to see is more portability of the projects; having that specific directory structure with the Projects and Events folders is clunky. I like the way iMovie uses a single package for the projects.

Your assumption isn't even remotely true.

----------

I read a great tip earlier. Put everything into a disk image file:

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

Inside the virtual disk FCP will of course create its complex hierarchy of folders — but when you close everything and unmount the disk, you've got ONE file to move around. Pretty cool.

I've heard this 'work around' a zillion times. And yes, it does work. But the fact that one has to do this to be able to move projects around shows that it is immensely flawed. It's silly how people suggest this idea as if it's a great solution when in reality it's a monster drag on workflow.

 

[Leddy]

I expected tumble-weeds - I guess this thread is pretty close. Does anyone use FCP X seriously any more - is it worth the investment in time and frustration?

I thought it might find a place in fast-turnaround news gathering organisations at least ...

 

[DesterWallaboo]

I expected tumble-weeds - I guess this thread is pretty close. Does anyone use FCP X seriously any more - is it worth the investment in time and frustration?

I thought it might find a place in fast-turnaround news gathering organisations at least ...

It works well in single-machine/workstation shops where media isn't shared or transported throughout a facility. So you won't likely find it in any sort of large studio or news facility.

 

[Mr. Wonderful]

There's still the gigantic issue that there is no new Mac on the market that has a storage solution suitable for editing 4K video.

Your choices are either SAN (okay, sure, I guess) or Thunderbolt (HAHAHA no).

 

[asim]

no love for aperture?

hopefully the pro app updates mean there may be an aperture update soon...

 

[punktilend]

Still no batch export/share

With this update they are still leaving out batch export/share. It is one of the biggest annoyances to have to export 30 projects by selecting each one individually.

 

[MacSawdust]

Yes - In a way

You aren't REALLY basing progress off the decimal places are you?

As a way to mark innovation. FCPX took off in a bold direction, but there have been no big improvements since then, only minor fixes to restore lost functionality.

What about a deeper "round trip" integration of FCPX and Motion (select a sequence, flip to Motion, add mojo, flip back, done), or getting the Compressor UI out of the OS9 era and streamlining the workflow (it wouldn't take much to make it more accessible to non-pros).

Shake was another crazy-awesome piece of software left to rot on the vine.

I know Apple pro software and hardware make 0.000001% of Apple's profit nowadays, but now that they have the cash, why not spend it on something they can be proud of? Just because they can. Bring on FCP 11!

Signed,
Grumpy gray beard

 

[macMitch]

Why Switch Back

When I first bought into the FCP suite 8 years ago I faced a huge learning curve coming from basic editors. FCP was much better than Premiere at the time, so in the long run I was happy with my decision and put in the time. Last year I purchased a restocked MBP 17" after they were discontinued, and at that time decided to try premiere on a large project we had coming since I already have a copy from my Adobe Creative Cloud account. I loved it. I really loved the way After Effects, Photoshop and the other programs worked with each other. Most of my clients still want DVD's. Apple doesn't believe in DVD's. So why change back? Why put in all that time to relearn yet another suite. Premiere 7 will be out soon enough, and I'll get that as a free upgrade. And I can cross the floor in three years to a Windows system. No longer being bound to one company feels really good.

 

[gnomeisland]

Yeah, they're all about Pro apps.

Careful what you wish for. I think they are going to make us pay for those & while I think a lot of the gripes against FCP X are valid, it has improved a lot at no added cost.

 

[blinkytoo]

Arrogance Inc

Apple still doesn't get that Pros wanted Final Cut 8 with 64 bit, Avid Style user settings, customizable interface and OSX integration. In fact I understand they did just that and put it on a shelf, never to see the light of day just like the Arc of the Covenant in a box in a warehouse ala Raiders of the Lost Ark.
Reinventing the complete editing experience was an arrogant, we-know-what's-best-for-you, dick move. Let's just change the names of everything you know.
I can't wait for the Apple iCar that replaces the steering wheel, pedals and gear shift with one button. No need to worry, Apple knows where you need to go.

 

[plysat]

Final
6) Option in the Event Library: Only Show Events Associated with this Project (To hide it from clients who don't need to see what else I'm working on.)

Current work around involves a separate drive for each client. Could get costly. Perhaps better folder management is all Apple needs? They can already do: HD/Event/Folder/. Why not give us HD/Folder/Event/Folder/

Uh... This. Best $5 you'll ever spend...

http://assistedediting.intelligentassistance.com/EventManagerX/

----------

because it doesn't let you save before operations that you know are likely to crash your system. It saves when it thinks it should save, not when you know it should save. I took enough time (a few months) to study FCP X when it came out, and then one more time when the first major update arrived, and I just don't like the whole approach. It feels like you're not in control, and the system is doing god knows what constantly for you, without letting you control it. While this can be a great thing for many people, it can cause huge problems in a professional project.

Uh... it saves after every keystroke. Constantly, non stop. And while it rarely crashes these days, when it has, I've never lost a thing. make a cut and pull the plug on your computer at the same time. When you reboot, that cut will be there. It's great. And it's not the same as it was when it "first came out". It kinda sucked. It doesn't anymore...

----------

You should unless you work in an editing environment with more than one person. Being able to have more than one person have access to the same files is critical and therefore excludes FCPX if you have a NAS.

No, it doesn't. X can reference files from any server. All our media is on a central RAID. FCP 7, FCP X, AE... whatever, all use the same source files.

 

[relbbircs]

Ho-Hum

I was using Soundtrack Pro but switched to Adobe's Audition about a year ago. Guess what? Audition runs rings around STP... Has Apple done anything for FCPX audio editing or is it worth asking...

 

[Byrnes3969]

Pro Market = Low Profit

Apple Marketing is in high gear.

I think Apple is just trying to recover its investment in the FCP X overhaul. Most of the improvements are just bug fixes and format support. This is probably a last big sales push before they let the app die a slow death.

I see FCP X stale in 3 years. I'm not investing my time or money.

iPads, iphones, laptops, and apps. This is where Apple is focused and they'll do great with those lines.

 

[-hh]

Uggh, release Logic Pro X already.

There's a lot of stuff that needs work for the classical content creators. Even at the low end of iLife, consider how decrepit iWeb is getting ... and that while it isn't pedantically "Pro", it is really the only effective way that Apple offers to export one's Apple-based media libraries.

Next, go into Safari to disable all of that Java vulnerability stuff and then go back to your iWeb created content.


-hh

 

[Michael Scrip]

It works well in single-machine/workstation shops where media isn't shared or transported throughout a facility. So you won't likely find it in any sort of large studio or news facility.

Apple's own webpage talks about major post-production facilities that use FCPX. Surely they're using shared media.

Apple lists 6 examples... but I'm guessing there are far more that don't use FCPX.

The general consensus here is that FCPX is not suitable for large post houses... so I dunno.

 

[25ghosts]

to op..

and how exactly are they "trying to win back pros"

----------

Apple Marketing is in high gear.

I think Apple is just trying to recover its investment in the FCP X overhaul. Most of the improvements are just bug fixes and format support. This is probably a last big sales push before they let the app die a slow death.

I see FCP X stale in 3 years. I'm not investing my time or money.

iPads, iphones, laptops, and apps. This is where Apple is focused and they'll do great with those lines.

i see fcpx being a new standard in 3 years,,, this a software which is HERE to stay.

The only thing "staling" are the old relics wanting to use FCPx as if it were an update to FCPx.... Relics exist to extinct.. FCPx to exist...

I personally know a lot of ol' school NLE editors...

they are: Slow, Dumb, arrogant, narrow-minded and full-blown relics... And as they parish, we'll all be better off

----------

Uggh, release Logic Pro X already.

been using logic since it was called notator...

Logic Pro 9 still contains relic code... from those days... It WILL need a rewrite to compete... And I personally believe Apple will do just that.

We'll see... but it will take time... Thinking, though.. That 2013 WILL be the year....

AVID is slowly realizing that HDx is NOT the future... And turning PT into a VERY powerful native DAW... Logic has abs. nothing on PT...

Logic X however, WILL be an avid contender to the crown of becoming THE DAW.

 

[25ghosts]

Haha just a slight typo on this page.
http://www.apple.com/finalcutpro/in-action/


But inside their page they are only a production house.

And I've worked with them before, in reality they make commercials, the only job FCPX has is capturing clips and then taking the finished composted shots from Cinema 4D, AfterFX, and putting them together. There sadly is no intense editing.

1) NO serious "house" will EVER share their secrets of HOW they do things.... NO ONE !!!!! Be like apple sharing source code and NOT patenting their code.. Just understand that..

2) I do LOTs of color grading... (dont care MUCH about Where or in which software I do it) as long as I can adjust certain levels, sat etc etc. I know Davinci resolve (soft/hardware) and always thought of that as a VERY clumsy piece of software (hardware is nice)... BUt ONLY as good as the software as it is in fact a giant remote control. As FCPx came out, I started doing all cc'ing there... We write our own FxPlugs *not commercially* for FCPx and the way one can organize his CC'ing makes resolve look like a dumb arse... which it basically is...

There are so many ways of using *misusing* FCPx to ones advance that it is REALLY sad to see so many old school guys not realizing that.

Whichever... Take a weekend with With FCPx... And if you are serious colorist... You are bound to figure out WHY FCPx is so much better than Resolve (Myself having used resolve A LONG time)

----------

Apple's own webpage talks about major post-production facilities that use FCPX. Surely they're using shared media.

Apple lists 6 examples... but I'm guessing there are far more that don't use FCPX.

The general consensus here is that FCPX is not suitable for large post houses... so I dunno.

1) FCPx is a SOFTWARE enabling the enabled to CUT a series of clips into a contextual "burger"

2) If one cant get it done in FPCx... he probably cant get it done at all !!!

Why .... Take a GOOD look at 1)

----------

Apple still doesn't get that Pros wanted Final Cut 8 with 64 bit, Avid Style user settings, customizable interface and OSX integration.

I may not be a pro... But my Profession is making flicks... My E-Class, bread n Butter, house... Is paid by the work I do in FCPx...

I COME from AMC and PPRO...... And I always thought of them as Frankenstein software... Always hoped for something intuitive to come out...

With above in mind.....


I DID NOT WANT... What you describe above... AT ALL.

I got exactly what I wanted... FCPx////////

----------

Sure...this program might work wonders for industrials or small video production houses...maybe wedding videos.

your imagination is severely limited...


PS--- If you cant get your flick into PT and do a score then you are even more limited than above sentence assumes....

----------

Show us your professional demo reel.

----------



This is a HUGE problem in a studio, and one of the biggest factors in our dumping FCP as our editor.

----------




People cut RED on FCPX?

----------



Show us your pro demo reel.

----------



Try doing episodic broadcast work that is shared between multiple workstations on a SAN.... then get back to me.

----------



Your assumption isn't even remotely true.

----------



I've heard this 'work around' a zillion times. And yes, it does work. But the fact that one has to do this to be able to move projects around shows that it is immensely flawed. It's silly how people suggest this idea as if it's a great solution when in reality it's a monster drag on workflow.

You have absolutely NO idea about FCPx....

Why do you even bother ??? Your replies are not serious !

 

[plysat]

Show us your professional demo reel.

Very well reasoned retort. Where's yours?

 

[Small White Car]

What functions are you unable to do with FCP X at work ?

1) Little missing things...

One prominent example that comes to mind is a lack of a timecode-reader filter. Giving my producer dailies with burned-in code is a very basic and necessary thing. At home I use FCP 7 to do it before working in X, but I can't tell my boss that I have to have another expensive piece of software just to do such basic tasks.


2) We work in a networked environment and share projects back and forth with each other frequently. FCP X just doesn't play nice with networked drives. It wants everything to be locally attached. This means that 1) we'd be copying stuff back and forth, creating a mess we have to keep track of, and 2) we'd have to muck around in Finder to do this. FCP X is specifically designed to keep you from messing with files directly which means working like this is "going behind the software's back." Always a dangerous thing to do with software on a daily basis.


3) Dumb things...

Compressor is a batch-processor that handles multiple files at once. Too bad you can't SEND it multiple files at once! You can't select multiple projects in FCP X, so you have to send them all to Compressor one at a time, and then drag all of them together. It's like no one even thought this stuff out or tried to use it.

4) They've made a lot of weird assumptions about how people work. Doing a multi-cam shoot? They assume you recorded the audio on a computer or audio tape. If you recorded body mics on camera A and the piano on Camera B, you're screwed... sort of.

I've actually worked out a solution to this using 3-deep nests and did a large project with it. "So what's the problem?" you say. Well, it's not fun when an editor comes to me with this problem (as happened to me) and says "How do I fix this?" and I had to say "Oh, you did it like the FCP manual told you, so you're screwed. You should have to used my hidden, convoluted secret method! You need to start over and lose your work." ...yeah...bosses don't like hearing stuff like that.

- - - - -

I'll say it again, I LIKE this program. I like the new things they're trying. But I wish they'd spend less time adding 4k formats and more time adding basic features I need. Because I promise you there is NO ONE using 4k who doesn't need to burn-in camera time code.

 

[Derpage]

Requiescant in pace.

 

[chirpie]

Because I promise you there is NO ONE using 4k who doesn't need to burn-in camera time code.

But, but, but... what about all of the wonderfully shot vacation videos that are bound to show up on Vimeo? ^_^

 

[deconstruct60]

1) Little missing things...

One prominent example that comes to mind is a lack of a timecode-reader filter.

Like this one ?

http://i8042prt.wordpress.com/articles/fcpx-timecode-reader-filter/

2) We work in a networked environment and share projects back and forth with each other frequently. FCP X just doesn't play nice with networked drives. It wants everything to be locally attached. This means that 1) we'd be copying stuff back and forth, creating a mess we have to keep track of, and 2) we'd have to muck around in Finder to do this.

or alternatively, if it is non concurrent usage, FCPX and XSan work.

 

[Derpage]

Like this one ?

http://i8042prt.wordpress.com/articles/fcpx-timecode-reader-filter/




or alternatively, if it is non concurrent usage, FCPX and XSan work.

You should read the entire thread below the ****** tutorial to find that it doesn't work. waa waa waaaa

 

[plysat]

1) Little missing things...

One prominent example that comes to mind is a lack of a timecode-reader filter. Giving my producer dailies with burned-in code is a very basic and necessary thing. At home I use FCP 7 to do it before working in X, but I can't tell my boss that I have to have another expensive piece of software just to do such basic tasks.

Are you trying burn TC to source clips? Right click master clip in event and choose "open in timeline" Add a timecode reader (in generators) to the timeline. Done. now your master clip has "burned in" timecode. You can export it when it's opened in it's timeline. Kinda sucks that when you cut it into a sequence it then reads the sequence TC, I guess you could reimport it and cut with the "burned in" version if you need to see source TC in the cut.

1)
2) We work in a networked environment and share projects back and forth with each other frequently. FCP X just doesn't play nice with networked drives. It wants everything to be locally attached. This means that 1) we'd be copying stuff back and forth, creating a mess we have to keep track of, and 2) we'd have to muck around in Finder to do this. FCP X is specifically designed to keep you from messing with files directly which means working like this is "going behind the software's back." Always a dangerous thing to do with software on a daily basis.

Not really. I work off a networked RAID shared with multiple editors. All clips are referenced,only renders are local. I can duplicate a project in X, and just give another editor the project. They have to "relink" to their events, which have all the same (referenced) media. Not a whole lot different than doing it in 7. I'm hoping it'll et even easier as they update, but it's quite doable.

1)3) Dumb things...

Compressor is a batch-processor that handles multiple files at once. Too bad you can't SEND it multiple files at once! You can't select multiple projects in FCP X, so you have to send them all to Compressor one at a time, and then drag all of them together. It's like no one even thought this stuff out or tried to use it.

Agreed. I like having a bunch of saved export presets, and being able to export on project in multiple formats in one pass is, uh... really nice, but if you need to export more than 3 or 4 projects at once it's kind of a pain...

4) They've made a lot of weird assumptions about how people work. Doing a multi-cam shoot? They assume you recorded the audio on a computer or audio tape. If you recorded body mics on camera A and the piano on Camera B, you're screwed... sort of.

Haven't done much multi cam, but can't you just make markers on each clip to use as a sync point? I'll defer this one to someone who knows... X isn't perfect, but the more I use it the more I like it...

 

[cassiar]

Show us your professional demo reel.

----------



This is a HUGE problem in a studio, and one of the biggest factors in our dumping FCP as our editor.

----------




People cut RED on FCPX?

----------



Show us your pro demo reel.

----------

We just bought a couple of workstations, currently working on a 25k project, 4 employees all trained to cut in FCPX. No we don't do feature films, or episodic tv, but fcpx is the best editing software for video guys like us. And apple knows there are a lot of us out there. I'll agree with most of the criticisms, we all have our own list of requests, my original post was merely giving kudos for the FCPX team in all the updates and that the software makes me edit faster and with more purpose. These are good things.