FCPX: Why We Can't Use Final Cut Pro X at Our Companies

Hello FCP users,

I dont usually comment on these types of forums, but decided to post a couple of comments to add to the current debate as an non professional.

I am a Photographer who decided to take a look at using a good one stop post production program for creating slide shows with the ability to export in a variety of media and movie files.

Naturally I looked at both the older FCP Studio and FCPX to trial on my Macbook. It is important to stress here I am not a video professional but have used dreamweaver, fire Works,Indesign and Freehand type products in the past. After reading and researching all the comments regarding the two products on various sites, I started a test with FCPX.

As a new user, having not explored all the features just yet,I have found this program pretty good in terms of the interface, imorting media, adding audio, titles and exporting simple photo stories. Its ability to integrate with other programs and Video/file formats is good ounce you figure out the output result. It also makes for a painless process of integration with programs like Aperture and social media via plugins and export features. Is it beacause the release is targeted at a different user market? Maybe.

I agree that Apple is about directing its market approach towards the most user marketable products,to maximise profit. They are not on their own there and I have never seen a piece of relased softwear (Mac & PC)that didnt require tweeks, updates and upgrades as developers recieve feedback from users or a dip in sales.

I am familiar with film makers needs and the type of control they need, one can only hope the crew at the Apple FCP development section consider the needs of all the potential and existing users including the professional guys who are used to absolute control over production workflows that the older versions of FCP gives them.

Change, unfortunately is inevitable in these competetive industries and never easy for users. This is especially so for large and small production houses who have invested large sums of money and time in a systems basket that they thought would not be subject to such an impact for a new release.

Perhaps Apple should set up a a group of industry and private users to help input in to future FCP software development and marketing strategies. I am sure others may have suggeted or tried this approach with developers in the past, and expect I know what the answer is.

Would apple do this, and will this keep eveyone happy? I doubt it. I suppose thats why this and other user forums are good. Just maybe someone from Apple is watching and listening!

Cheers, Mike

I found Walter and Richard's podcast interesting but I found I couldn't agree with all of it.

I'm the sort of prosumer user that they suggest might like FCPX. Well even for my basic uses FCPX doesn't work. I deal primarily in sound, and while the basic sound tools in FCPX are good for a quick fix, they aren't nearly adequate for my needs.

I've been reading through these comments as they have came in over the last few days and am blown away by the community response.

Below is a link to a Facebook page which I hope garners enough "Likes" to send a message to Apple that the Professional Community demands an outline noting dates and features for future releases.

Final Cut Pro X: Demand for Features
http://on.fb.me/FCPX-Fb

Without pressure from the community Apple will continue to focus on the iProduct lines. If you agree with the message, please share with your networks!

Great podcast, I've enjoyed it a lot. I have not used FCPx yet and have found your comments helpful. Some one wrote a rebuttal to many of the comments you made: http://pogue.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/06/23/professional-video-editors-weigh-...

What are your thoughts?

Stephen Smith
Utah Video Productions

Check out my Motion Training DVD

Check out my Motion Tutorials

Oh my goodness!

The whining about FCP X is unbelievable! I cannot believe all of the professionals whining about all the missing features. Let me ask you this. When FCP 1.0 came out, did it completely fill your needs? Maybe, at that time, but it lacked lots of what we needed.

Most everyone here on the COW asked for a complete rebuild of FCP so that we can fully utilitize our computers to their fullest. Well... Apple did just that. Along with some bugs that Apple has addressed.

Everyone whose been in the business for more than 10 years should know by now that television production NEVER goes as it is planned. We adapt and overcome our challenges. If something doesn't work like it is planned, we figure out another way to do it. Shame on you for whining about FCP X not being ready for professional productions.

Noise Industries and AJA have released software to help us out. Not perfect and AJA is still in the beta stages but its there folks.

When I read about the features that have been left out. I, too, was a little disheartened but you know what... I gave thought to it and figured ways to solve these issues. Ok... Sony will always be behind the curve with support but there are plenty of ways to import footage, if you just think, instead of whining.

Come on, folks... This is a professional COW website. We are here to help each other and figure out the shortcomings of our software for our particular needs. Not to gripe that it more difficult to use. PLEASE...

_______________________________

Wayne Carey
Schazam Productions
http://web.mac.com/schazamproductions
schazamproductions@mac.com

Hi every all here, have you heard about this ?
http://www.petitiononline.com/finalcut/petition.html
I invite you to sign it to let Apple.inc know about our anger.
Best Regards

Im from the UK but was working in Hong Kong for a few months earlier this year.. I was able to download Apps from the app store without any issue using my UK apple account!

We are an internationally-recognized feature documentary production/post-production company. We've been using Final Cut Pro on the majority of our projects and were setting up to continue in this mode until FCP X was released. The limitations of the functionality of this "upgrade" have shocked all of us in the post department. There is no possibility of us continuing on with FCP unless they put out a truly professional version of X, but we're not holding our collective breath. Looks like it's back to Avid for us. It's crazy that Apple would throw away their professional editing community without a backward look. Very disturbing.

Apple probably doesn't car but this all comes down to professionals switching to LINUX or Windows 7 for professional work.

I will equip a brand new post facility soon, and it really makes sense to equip the facility with HP or Dell workstations for all the video suites.

What about sound: at this point it makes sense to install Windows 7 PCs with Pro Tools in audio edit suites and mixing stages. Even tough I have never haven't had a real world experience of a fully loaded Pro Tools HD with extension chassis on a pC. But it probably works fine.

It really means bye bye to the entire MAC world by audio and video professionals

Michel Gallone
Sowatt Music sàrl
Music Post and Shooting
http://sowattmusic.com

Apple doesn't have a good excuse, even as "v1" - to cut out some pretty basic professional features...

look forward to the upgrades before I will decide to buy - and how Apple responds to the needs



Stu Aull
Alaska

Hi all,

I wanted to post a few clarifications and corrections on the podcast regarding why I couldn’t adopt Final Cut Pro X at my facility. These aren’t excuses or apologies, rather I just want to share some useful information the community has pointed out to me. (And I will apologize in advance for the long post).

Did we rush to get podcast out? Yes, we did. Why? Normally I pride myself in taking time and writing well thought out books and recording and editing podcasts. In this case I rushed my thoughts out. After a day of testing, I wanted to point out some of the most confusing areas of the upgrade process. I also wanted people to know about some of the limitations I found in the CURRENT version. Will there be updates? There always are. Do I hope for those updates? Absolutely. Do I know anything about when they’ll come... NOPE.

Do I hate Apple/FCPX or have a secret agenda? Absolutely not. When I launched my company I was faced with taking out a second mortgage for an NLE or trying Final Cut Pro. I have been there since version 1. I built my company using Apple hardware and software from Apple and Adobe. To this day I use both heavily. If you have any doubt.... look at the Final Cut Pro podcasts on Creative COW. I think it's a great tool for some users, really. But its not what I hoped for as it stands now. I am currently working on training for photographers who want to edit DSLR material in FCPX. I am happy with it for that use, as I know it will be approachable to many photographers who find “traditional editing” confusing. If you like FCPX, I am genuinely happy for you. Getting new software should feel like birthday presents for a six-year old.

Do I work for Adobe? No, I am not an Adobe employee. For full disclosure. I have been a certified instructor. First for Avid. Then Apple. Then Adobe. I have written official education materials for two of those companies. None of these companies tell me what to say. I have been hired to do work by both Apple and Adobe in the past. I have been hired by both Apple and Adobe to help customers directly with consulting as well as go to trade shows or store events. I have also done user group events in exchange for an airline ticket and dinner because I want to give back. I make my living doing two things: Full-service production work and helping people with software and workflow problems.

I have always tried to be fair in my opinions. And I always try to give software developers helpful feedback about their tools. My intentions in creating the podcast were to raise awareness for “pros like me.” Those who have multi-user environments and need to collaborate with workflows that involve multiple tools from several manufacturers.

What do you edit with? I started on Avid at KCCI television in Des Moines, IA. Paid for my own classes out of my own pocket and learned it. I actively edited on Avid for about 7 years. I started with Final Cut Pro on version 1. I still use it a whole lot (and it is the most popular application with our clients). I decided to get over my snobbishness and learn Adobe Premiere Pro about 2 years ago. I struggled, I whined, I complained. Then it got better. I used it for all my DSLR workflow starting with CS5. I’ve know switched to using it about 50% of the time, and I am excited by the growth I see. My own company is in the middle of being retrained.... and yes like many things I wrote it down and sell it as a book. You buy it I make 50¢. Let’s just say I live of my client work and my book writing is a bad addiction spurned by being bred from a family with 14 teachers in it.

So you have an agenda? Heck no. I consider NLE choice like religion. That’s up to you. Except when its not. Like a client demands, or the shop you work for switches. I helped a lot of Avid editors learn Final Cut Pro (I mean A LOT). I’ve also started helping Avid and FCP users learn Premiere Pro. Use the tool you like if its up to you. If you freelance... know all three (more money). We edited stuff the other day in Telestream’s Screenflow... because it was the right tool for that job. I use what the job or the client demands. Do I like Adobe... yes I like where they are going and find it reassuring that they lay out a clear roadmap. I also commend Avid for being much clearer about where they are going and opening up support for AJA hardware, etc.

Did I get everything right in the podcast? No... but I tried. I did research. I tried to dig in to the documentation. But several things are just dead ends. For example... the number one hit for volume licensing on Final Cut Pro on apple.com... is a dead link (http://store.apple.com/ie-business/product/D4615ZM/A).

So... what did I get wrong? The greatest thing about the Internet is that you have a viable community of fact checkers and researchers. You also have an abundance of people willing to tell you when you are wrong. We said multiple times in the podcast that this was our opinion and what we had found so far. We were trying to be accurate... but we were definitely expressing opinions. So... here’s what I think could be better said after a little more feedback from the community and time to explore the app.

Mac App Store. This is the area where I got the most confused (although I stand by the majority of what I said). Thanks to @NotMyBro (no real name I can find) and Melanie Brands for pointing me in right directions. Another good resource is http://www.macworld.com/article/157018/2011/01/appstore_licensing.html.

• iTunes access while abroad. Turns out you can access your country store when abroad in most cases (nothing keeps ISPs or countries from blocking others is what I hear). That’s the good news. Doesn’t change the fact that 75 MB or traffic set me back nearly $700 at last IBC conference. For many, broadband access is NOT a reality. Many readers of the COW use dialup or slower DSLR. Many also pay per MB. The fees associated with downloading this size software package are prohibitive to many.
• Volume Licensing. I can’t find info in the App store or on Apple’s site. But I am told to call 1-800-MY-APPLE. It’s closed right now, but I will try and see what happens. Another useful commenter suggested buying iTunes gift cards, then using those to set up multiple accounts for downloads. Both sound like good ideas, but I haven’t been able to try them out yet.
• Backing up purchases. I am told that I can zip the applications I bought and back them up to disc. I have not tried this yet (I am on the road with only one MacBook Pro). I am concerned though that there was even more downloadable content after the initial purchase through software updates. And what about after future updates. I did find this useful article on Apple’s site (http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4482) which seems to confirm this workflow. I have not tried it yet with FCP. It does say that “When you open the restored app for the first time, you may be required to sign in with the Apple ID account that was used to purchase the app.” This concerns me if it requires an Internet connection to verify. In the past, reinstalls didn’t usually require this to activate. I can see this causing problems for me... but I am a pessimist about global Internet. Last stats I saw said about 7 billion on planet and a little over 1 billion available net connections.

Native editing support is broader. So it turns out that IMX supported (swear it wasn’t in documentation, but now is). Heard lots of rumors that R3D to come (but boy are people mad now). It appears that if you go through and uncheck a bunch of options... you can avoid having to rewrap many formats... but this warrants more testing and exploration.


(Sometimes) You Don't have to transcode before export. So if you uncheck all the options to optimize media when you import... then it won’t transcode. But the app seems to want you to by default. If I let the sequence auto-conform to first clip, and I only put in that type of media.... it works. But when I mix formats in a timeline, stuff wants to render. I don’t understand the intricacies of FCPX media management and sequence settings. I am exploring. What I have found is that there are lots of assisted tasks in FCPX that try to "help" me. Sometimes they do... sometimes they don’t. This too warrants more testing and exploration.

So you’re basically saying you are confused? Yep... I’m confused. About a lot of things related to FCPX. I wish I had more answers and I wish the official answers were easier to find. But I know this, if two people with as much training and experience as Walter Biscardi and I have are confused, that’s a problem. Hopefully manufacturers will learn from this and communicate answers and a vision or road map.

I hope this clears things up more. I am probably not 100% right. This is an Editorial. An opinion piece. I am happy when things I dislike turn out to actually work. I am also thrilled when shortcomings and bugs are fixed by software companies. Let's hope all the issues raised will get fixed.

I like a lot of FCPX. I will be using it at home and on my laptop for some projects. As it stands today, I cannot use it in my office because it doesn’t support the workflows I need. That is what I wanted to share... perhaps I did so with a lot of opinions... but editors are a pretty sarcastic lot. You do what’s right for you.... I raised these points to be helpful (both to the product and to other users of our community).

I welcome continued discussion and always feel free to tell me when I am wrong. If you can point out a link or a reference with an official answer... all the better. Looks like we are in for an adventure... please keep the commentary going and lets be respectful of one another.

Richard M. Harrington, PMP

Author: From Still to Motion, Video Made on a Mac, Photoshop for Video, Understanding Adobe Photoshop, Final Cut Studio On the Spot and Motion Graphics with Adobe Creative Suite 5 Studio Techniques

I think if you can get your hands on a brand-new still shrink-wrapped copy of FCP7 and/or FCSuite 3, you should buy it and hold it a few weeks because I believe demand is going to shoot up in the next week or so as some folks really panic, or just want to have a spare copy as "insurance" for an existing shop... and you might even double your money. FCS 3 new in box will become like Cuban Cohibas, like Detective Comics issue Number 1, (okay, maybe not that huge).

As far as a newbie getting their hands on FCS3 or FCP-7, all the "support" you need is already here on the COW. Apple won't replace a broken data disk and I don;t know if their help desks will remain active, but they'll likely keep their forum archives up for at least a year, so you can look up threads about common problems there. FCP7 works as well today as it did yesterday.

If I had the money I would get a copy of FCS3 for my home use, I do have a copy of v.6 I bought used, destined for an older imac, for home projects. Haven't installed it yet. It will be a while before I can afford a machine hot enough to run FCP-x anyhow, and the office has no plans to get it any time soon. Now, that seems like wisdom, ...instead of just poverty.:-)

Great podcast. Amazed at all you guys could find.

What Apple did to Final Cut was pretty disgusting. I kept giving them the benefit of the doubt up until yesterday.

I've been recently testing Premiere Pro 5.5 with some recent RED EPIC footage and I'm pleasantly surprised. If AVID allowed more 3rd party hardware I would already have priced the switch.

It seemed when Apple was the underdog they made better products. Now with the onslaught of iDevices and iSoftware they are catering to the lowest denominator. Two middle fingers in air pointed at Cupertino and their $46 Billion in cash right now.

Guys, Your psychic abilities are uncanny!!! you both expoused and exposed every thought and feeling I have been experiences regarding imovieCLOUD0.01/fcpX

Fantastic eloquent breakdown of an amazing FAILin so many ways.

The point about it running great on a 27 inch imac in california on a t3, was beyond spot on, coz u know they think everyones got 40gig lines and make content on their own.

Fantastic review, Im recomending to all my clients as to why we and they should not fall for this paid to beta software.

Been a mac guy since 89, motion designer/director/live video performer
this is the first time in my life I've questioned apples video vision, and unfortunately I see ego inflated control over a controlled environment for profit. The fact they did NOT speak to or do research with REAL professionals is shockingly arrogant and a deal breaker.

All your industry experiences and production workflow examples mirror exactly what we go through daily.

Please do more podcasts like this, Im infcp 7 and aftereffects now rendering and editing and tutting loudly.

bravo guys

/amoeba
http:http://www.theestateovcreation.co.uk

Doesn't a lot of the incompatibility issues revolve around FCP X being a 64bit program? When Windows 7 came out, all the 32 bit programs wouldn't run. So isn't that what Apple is doing--going to 64 bit? It seems like people are saying that Lion will run the old FinalCut 7, but for how long?

Great insight for a very disappointing product.

Insulted by apples latest release, particularly in calling it a "Pro" line of products and discontinuing support for FC7.

I wonder if there is fine print in the legal about misrepresented products and how refunds are dealt with?!

What a great conversation. Someone posted this on the FCP X Facebook page where we are all trying to makes sense of yesterday's developments. Not unusual for Apple to keep us guessing, but unlike changes to the MacMini and iPad, this dramatically the way we run our businesses. Thank you so much for your professional insight.