Alternative Application for Media Production

[Tero Ahlfors]

Well that read like someone is really pissed at Adobe for some reason.

[Craig Seeman]

My concern about Pixelmator and Sketch is what happens when I client hands you an Adobe CS6 Photoshop or Illustrator file and you need to do some changes on them.

I’m not a fan of Adobe’s pricing and upgrade policy either but I understand their business motives. I haven’t updated Photoshop since CS2. One might wonder why so many people don’t upgrade. It may be that while they do come out with some interesting new features, most may not be critical for what I call the “casual professional” (people who use these tools for things that Pixelmator does for much less money for example).

[Joseph W. bourke]

I can’t think of a faster way to be considered bush league by my clients than when they send me a Photoshop or Illustrator file and I tell them I can’t open it.

And this guy thinks Motion is better than After Effects – it’s a toy! Presets for the talentless!

Joe Bourke
Owner/Creative Director
Bourke Media
http://www.bourkemedia.com

[Thomas Frank]

I wouldn’t call Motion a toy we have made some serious cash with it!
Presets for the talentless… so does After Effects has his share of talentless.

[Franz Bieberkopf]

[Craig Seeman] “One might wonder why so many people don’t upgrade.”

Craig,

… Adobe CS sales and upgrades are down?

Franz.

[Craig Seeman]

[Franz Bieberkopf] “… Adobe CS sales and upgrades are down?”

While I haven’t seen number, I think one reason Adobe offers a subscription model is to alleviate the high one time cost of upgrading (and to give them steady cash flow).

There’s lots of stories of people skipping upgrades and Adobe began limiting more tightly how many versions one can jump in an upgrade. I can’t see any other reason for doing that except to counter the tendency for people to skip versions.

With subscription at least one can go month to month as one needs but some might find that awkward and it does cost more than doing a long term subscription.

I do think lots of people were skipping versions though.

[Franz Bieberkopf]

[Craig Seeman] “I do think lots of people were skipping versions though.”

Craig,

Speaking of vagaries … what do you make of the recent jumps in FCPX “top grossing” status in the app store? (down to 3rd last week behind pages, up to 1st this week)

Franz.

[Craig Seeman]

[Franz Bieberkopf] “Speaking of vagaries … what do you make of the recent jumps in FCPX “top grossing” status in the app store? (down to 3rd last week behind pages, up to 1st this week)”

It’s been a steady number two as far as I can tell in USA store but I have seen it drop to number three behind Pages. I haven’t seen it hit number one as that’s always Lion in USA. Keep in mind if you’re looking at “gross” it’s dollars so a $300 app only needs 1/10 the sales to challenge a $30 app.

There’s been at least one industry report which does indicate FCPX is selling very well. That obviously doesn’t mean it’s a lead NLE in most shops but for some it’s a $300 plugin for its good features and for others it’s a small outlay so they can reassess as features are added. For many others it’s a good small shop solution in a tight economy.

Of course, Adobe’s answer is that the subscription model doesn’t require much outlay either although there might be some “gotchas” in that model (which isn’t a bad thing for Adobe).

[Pat Harris]

Interesting Article…

Haven’t used Pixelmator, hype, or sketch before.

I do like FCPX, Motion and Aperture though.

IMO Motion does not compete with AE, motion is great for doing small graphics here or there, but not great for any VFX work.

AE has so much plugin support (between video copilot and red giant etc) and so many tutorials online I actually found it easier to learn.

Also, this list of budget items is great if your a college student trying to make a kickass short film, but if your working with clients you want to have all the top tools available.

Just my $0.02

Pat Harris
http://www.CinematicDSLR.com

[Joseph W. bourke]

I’m with you Pat – while there is no shame in using budget/free tools to accomplish a project (especially a one-person shop project), there is a certain level of expectations from the client-side when you dip your toes into the “real” production world. I’m not even going to try and define “real” – everyone’s reality here varies.

What I’m saying is that my clients expect me to have the “pro” stable of tools available. Now that could be Adobe, Apple, or AVID tools, but the general expectation is that you’ve got Photoshop and Illustrator to do logo and still prep work, then AE and PPro, FCP and Motion, or AVID tools to do the editing. There’s always going to be someone who will create Toy Story on a cellphone, but that’s the exception, rather than the rule. It is good to shake up the market, however, and make the big boys realize there is always some small dog breathing at their back, who, in one fell swoop, could suddenly become the big dog.

Joe Bourke
Owner/Creative Director
Bourke Media
http://www.bourkemedia.com