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Final Cut Pro X

K

KeithPratt

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Mar 6, 2007
804
3
"Awesome" indeed. Incase Apple doesn't put anything up soon enough, this is what I've gleaning from Twitter. (No vouching for accuracy.)

Available June, $299 from App Store. Uncertainty as to whether other apps in suite are being sold separately or if they've gone the way of the Dodo.

Rebuilt from scratch. 64-bit, OpenCL, Grand Dispatch, Core Animation, Cocoa. Background rendering. Uses all CPUs.

Built for Snow Leopard. Scales to hardware. New, darker interface.

No transcoding.

Colour-managed. Resolution independence to 4K. Floating point linear.

Does lots of stuff on ingest. Image stabilisation, rolling shutter correction, audio NR, auto colour balance. Auto-detects people and shot type (long, med, CU). Non-destructively.

Big emphasis on metadata and keyword tagging.

Magnetic Timeline — not sure exactly what this is from descriptions, but seems to be a new way to move stuff around on timeline. Compound Clips sounds like intelligent nesting. Inline Precision Editor for roll, slip, ripple, allows you to see outside of cut easily. Auditioning allows you to collect all your options for assembly and choose preferred later. Timeline Index.

Browser and viewer may have combined. Timeline tracks appear and disappear as needed. Can use keyboard for all functions.

One-click colour matching between clips. Retime by dragging. PluralEyes-like waveform-based autosync. Sample-accurate audio editing. Audio waveforms change in realtime.

Lots of questions remain...
 
Definitely sounds like some cool things were added but I hope all the 'helpful' features can be toggled on/off. For example, the video in your link thedarkhorse worries me if that feature can't be turned off. Audio track assignments are a very common thing (mic on A1, nat sound A2, SFX on A3 & A4, music on A5 & A6, etc.,) so I don't want FCP to bump track's up to 'fill in the gap'. Not only does that screw up my organization but it also makes the job harder for my audio mixer when I send him a timeline that's all jumbled up. The same goes for video track assignments. We keep things layered on specific tracks so they are easy to find. The use of white space keeps the timeline from turning into a cluttered mess.


Lethal
 
LethalWolfe said:
Couple good blogs about the presentation and what we do and do not know about FCP X so far.

FCP X is shown to the world. Flashy things are seen, questions are asked

New FCP X is really Not So New


Lethal
Click to expand...

Thanks for the links. Hopefully when Apple updates the website we’ll have some more answers! Sadly that probably won’t happen until closer to the release date!

Really good write up here: http://www.larryjordan.biz/app_bin/...source=feed&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=feed

One of the editors that had a sneak peek a few weeks ago and now can reveal all!
 
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Since FCP will be editing everything natively (and I assume that means all sorts of AVCHD files), ironically that means many of us won't need the super high speed Thunderbolt drives.

AVCHD files top out at 24 Mbps (or thereabouts), and since this is around the bitrate of DV, ye olde FW800 drives should be fine for external storage. Internal storage should be fine - 10 hours of footage will only take 130 GB or so.
 
martinX said:
Since FCP will be editing everything natively (and I assume that means all sorts of AVCHD files), ironically that means many of us won't need the super high speed Thunderbolt drives.

AVCHD files top out at 24 Mbps (or thereabouts), and since this is around the bitrate of DV, ye olde FW800 drives should be fine for external storage. Internal storage should be fine - 10 hours of footage will only take 130 GB or so.
Click to expand...

i don't really see TB as a need (atm) for faster transport speeds, i see it as a "hub" that can take any external devise and send it down the same pipe, eventually eliminating usb 2/3, esata, firewire. of course this magic breakout box i speak of doesn't exist yet :)

my pocket drive has firewire, usb and esata connects. remove all for a TB, cost goes down.

opens the door for uncompressed or "less compressed" video formats, more color space, etc.
 
014726-fcpscreen.jpeg
 
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alph45 said:
my pocket drive has firewire, usb and esata connects. remove all for a TB, cost goes down.
Click to expand...
Won't happen. Until every computer (and I'm looking at you, el cheapo PCs) has TB, they'll keep putting in everything. Also, TB is an Intel thing so AMD is out. And making (and marketing) stuff just for the Mac creative market has never driven down prices. IIRC, Western Digital were retailing for about a $20 premium over base for identical hard drives that were formatted as HFS+ and had "Mac" on the box.

Prediction: you know that 30-pin connector Apple recently patented, the one that carries USB and Thunderbolt? That'll be the only port on MacBook Airs next year.
 
Awesome screenshot, Shijan. Boy, it really is iMovie-ish:D

I like that you can just click on a clip in the library and see what it is rather than having to load it in the browser, wrong clip, mouse back double click ... it'll speed things up.

Dunno about that magic wand thingy.

Don't really see much in the way of an Effects tab either.

In some ways this will be v1 of FCP, but hopefully they've learnt from the iMovie '08 ... debacle? fiasco? extreme pain? Who knows. Pick one.
 
martinX said:
Won't happen. Until every computer (and I'm looking at you, el cheapo PCs) has TB, they'll keep putting in everything. Also, TB is an Intel thing so AMD is out. And making (and marketing) stuff just for the Mac creative market has never driven down prices. IIRC, Western Digital were retailing for about a $20 premium over base for identical hard drives that were formatted as HFS+ and had "Mac" on the box.

Prediction: you know that 30-pin connector Apple recently patented, the one that carries USB and Thunderbolt? That'll be the only port on MacBook Airs next year.
Click to expand...
my portable 2.5" drive is from OWC, who could very well put out a TB only solution. But I agree with the general sentiment that most will continue with multi-port products.
 
I was quite impressed after I saw the presentation via YouTube, before that I also thought it would be some kind of iMovie application.
I come from Avid Media Composer and have dabbled in FCP (I know DVDSP and Motion better than FCP) and can understand the confusion, as FCP X abandons the concepts of current NLEs and makes it more streamlined. I will have to try it first though, at is some kind of paradigm shift. I wonder how Adobe and Avid will react.
 
iMovie and FCP X probably do share code. No point in doing the same thing twice.

Then again, Prem Pro and Prem Elements probably do too.

We'll just have to get used to "you're using iMovie Pro" jibes from Avid users. :D
 
I can't help but wonder what the folks over at AVID are thinking of the new Final Cut Pro X. They are either terrified, or they have huge smiles on their faces thinking about all the new users they might be picking up this summer.

As for me, I've been sitting on the fence waiting to see what Apple would come out with before switching completely to AVID. After watching the demos, it's looking like I'm sticking with Apple. That is unless they screw this up in the next couple of months.
 
THX1139 said:
I can't help but wonder what the folks over at AVID are thinking of the new Final Cut Pro X. They are either terrified, or they have huge smiles on their faces thinking about all the new users they might be picking up this summer.
Click to expand...
I saw a tweet yesterday from someone at the SuperMeet who said they saw a couple of Avid reps leaving the FCP X demo smiling. And based only on this brief preview of FCP X I doubt that is an exaggeration. I also heard that the crowd was split about 50/50 between people loving it and people being a bit apprehensive.

I had a chance to watch the full presentation this morning and some things looked very promising (compound clips, auditioning, clip metadata, new audio levels and key framing) while other things I'm less than sold on (magnetic timeline, digging through tons of footage in the new browser, possibly more mouse-centric interface, etc.,).

Can't say anything good or bad for sure though until it actually ships and gets into the wild.


Lethal
 
Based on murmurings and mooings on the pro sites, I reckon Apple will lose some customers to Avid, if they had originally come from Avid some time in the last 10 years. They're talking about going back to Avid, not to Avid.

I also reckon every kid who has used iMovie in the last few years will start using FCP X in about July. This is the next generation of video editors, and they will far outnumber Avid users. They will be making movies for web distribution. They will be flooding the film schools. They will also have the mad skillz (look at me, sounding like a teenager :D) to turn things over really quickly, something which is appreciated in today's editing environment.

Apple has built FCP X for people who have never used film and probably never will so the metaphor needed to go. Bye-bye bins, hello "smart folders". And a big hello to the do-deca-core, 8TB, 32GB Mac Pro everyone can now justify purchasing.
 
martinX said:
Based on murmurings and mooings on the pro sites, I reckon Apple will lose some customers to Avid, if they had originally come from Avid some time in the last 10 years. They're talking about going back to Avid, not to Avid.

I also reckon every kid who has used iMovie in the last few years will start using FCP X in about July. This is the next generation of video editors, and they will far outnumber Avid users. They will be making movies for web distribution. They will be flooding the film schools. They will also have the mad skillz (look at me, sounding like a teenager :D) to turn things over really quickly, something which is appreciated in today's editing environment.

Apple has built FCP X for people who have never used film and probably never will so the metaphor needed to go. Bye-bye bins, hello "smart folders". And a big hello to the do-deca-core, 8TB, 32GB Mac Pro everyone can now justify purchasing.
Click to expand...

I agree on all points. Apple is walking a fine line between making the current pros happy and creating a project that will differentiate itself in way to inspire the post-film generation filmmakers (heck post video tape) generation filmmakers and thereby inspire sales.

I also think Apple has the advantage of the App store. While not free from hacking/pirating so far it looks more resistant that means it flexibility in pricing. For every copy of the software Adobe is selling how many dozens of copies are pirated? Currently the same thing could be said for FCP but I imagine that ration will turn in Apple's favor now. Avid is more immune but then Avid appeals to a different (perhaps dying) demographic.
 
Motion and Studio pro

What are the odds of these being included with FCPX? Or are they more likely add-ons through the store? Maybe $150 and 50 respectively.....

PS - I'm happy it's going to the app store because I'm assuming this means no 50GB of data to fill up my SSD.
 
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Some of the bashing is coming from those who were bashing before the sneak peak and, unless this was truly The Second Coming, were always going to continue bashing. They just like bashing.

Others will be genuinely concerned that FCP X doesn't fit with their way of working. Some will go to Avid. And some of them will return to FCP within a couple of years.

mondesi43 said:
What are the odds of these being included with FCPX? Or are they more likely add-ons through the store? Maybe $150 and 50 respectively.....
Click to expand...

I wondered if certain bits of Color, Motion, Soundtrack and perhaps even Compressor and additional bits of FCP 7 might be sold as plug-ins via the App Store. And I'd imagine Apple will start soliciting third-party plug-in developers to make their submission for the Store pretty soon too.
 
KeithPratt said:
I wondered if certain bits of Color, Motion, Soundtrack and perhaps even Compressor and additional bits of FCP 7 might be sold as plug-ins via the App Store. And I'd imagine Apple will start soliciting third-party plug-in developers to make their submission for the Store pretty soon too.
Click to expand...

Though I'd be very disappointed if Apple cut out key features of FCP (like multi-cam editing for example) only to sell them as add-ons I for one welcome the idea of them breaking up the studio and allowing customers to purchase only the parts they need or gradually purchase the entire suite over time.

I'd love to see Color (among others) get a facelift to match the new UI but I have a feeling that with all the effort on rewriting FCP we'll have to wait a little longer for the rest of the suite to get their chance.
 
mondesi43 said:
What are the odds of these being included with FCPX? Or are they more likely add-ons through the store? Maybe $150 and 50 respectively.....

PS - I'm happy it's going to the app store because I'm assuming this means no 50GB of data to fill up my SSD.
Click to expand...

You do realize the excessive amount in data in Motion, Soundtrack, & Others are from templates (aka, extra files you don't have to install). You could probably install the entire Final Cut Studio Suite in probably 3GBs without all the extra template.

Back to the matter at hand, after watching the videos, I think this is going to be great for prosumers & hobbyists. It really seems they simplified complicated editing. This will definitely appeal to college students & small-time editors who have simple workflows - import to FC, edit, export to DVD/Web.

However, I can see this being a problem for professional editors. The lack of tracks poses problems, just off the top of my head.

Clearly, no one is forcing current editors to switch from FCS3 to FCPX. I'm sure Apple will sell both concurrently for a couple years.
 
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