CNN is going with Adobe CC & Adobe Anywhere

[Mitch Ives]

[David Roth Weiss] “I’ll bet FCP X was a very close 2nd. 🙂 Or, as we like to say in golf, “it was the best of the losers.””

In racing, second place is first loser…

Mitch Ives
Insight Productions Corp.

“Criticism may not be agreeable, but it is necessary. It fulfills the same function as pain in the human body. It calls attention to an unhealthy state of things.” – Winston Churchill

[Andy Field]

Also news is more than cut and air. There are enormous archiving challenges for future historical footage. Networks have small battalions of people that just do this and they need a solid networked structure to make it accessible to everyone who needs the clips.

[Oliver Peters]

[Andy Field] “There are enormous archiving challenges for future historical footage. Networks have small battalions of people that just do this and they need a solid networked structure to make it accessible to everyone who needs the clips”

Apple tried to play in that arena. That’s where XSAN and Final Cut Server originally fit in. A few years ago they had active enterprise-level sales, implementation and evangelist staff to deal with networks and broadcast groups. Also newspaper publishers. The end result was never fully developed.

Apple pulled back their direct involvement with this and left it to resellers, who didn’t do a great job. Finally Apple, pulled the plug and left those who’d embraced this path hanging. Needless to say, this did not endear Apple to such clients.

Meanwhile, Apple has done a lot to embrace the enterprise customer in how they’ve developed iPhone and iPad, including licensing Microsoft technology to be compatible with Exchange. They essentially dropped a low-volume, high-maintenance enterprise approach, for a different one that was in line with corporations of all types, all around the world. Plus it could be integrated into the same products that appeal to users. Apple is about empowering the individual, not the enterprise.

This sort of archiving that Andy mentions, is essential and it requires long-range planning and some sense of a reliable roadmap. Many companies go with their own custom software and IT infrastructure, so that they have complete customization and control. MLB Network is a good example. When you deal with a Sony, Grass Valley, Quantel, Dalet or Avid, these companies have staff dedicated to quoting, designing and installing one-offs for large customers. The truth is that Adobe has been doing this too, as part of their back-end support for web sites. It’s just not an area most of us deal with. I would presume a similar approach will be taken with Adobe Anywhere.

The point is that the choice of NLE is inconsequential to the whole operation, as long as it plays well with the total ecosystem. FCP X is very nice, but the “plays well with others” box is definitely NOT checked.

– Oliver

Oliver Peters Post Production Services, LLC
Orlando, FL
http://www.oliverpeters.com

[Tony West]

I still think it’s perfect for a news a organization.

The whole point of the library structure was to improve sharing.

How can X not fit in a fast pace news environment? That’s one if it’s strengths.

I’d have to walk into their studio and see for myself what’s going on.

What I see on air is like any other cables news network.

Live with talking heads on a desk all day long with pushed back b-roll of the topic played over and over.

Dissolve, dissolve, dissolve ……..push on still push push push. That’s all the “cutting” I see on there for the most part. Roll in some that stuff we stole from youtube and drop and youtube font on top of it.

The other stuff that’s creative is promotional (that looks great). I would be surprised if that wasn’t one editor and one promotional producer cutting the whole thing like most places. I can’t see multiple editors working on a promotion spot at a place like that.

Pr is a great tool and they like it better. That’s cool.

I’m not convinced that X couldn’t help them.

[Andy Field]

Here’s why FCP X doesn’t work for them. A real life story.

I consulted with a major international broadcaster who’s evaluating FCP X, Premiere Pro and Avid to replace nearly a 1000 seats of FCP 7.

FCPX was instantly out of the game even though it was “simple” for the cut cut push push editing you describe. The reason. It didn’t interface with there server and archive systems. Didn’t mater how user friendly it was – it lost the fight before the first bell

Premiere Pro worked better but not perfectly with their server system. Adobe folks bending themselves into a pretzel to help make it happen – personally – on site

Avid – they’re still evaluating but they already have seats installed ….the reluctance there – the steep learning curve for thousands of FCP 7 editors (most of them really reporters who edit) moving to Avid….the networking isn’t a problem there.

bottom line – no matter how easy FCPX is – if it Apple isn’t willing to invest the people time and equipment to support large operations….it’s not going to happen.

Andy Field
FieldVision Productions
N. Bethesda, Maryland 20852

[Timothy Auld]

Agreed. Apple doesn’t seem to even want to talk about this to larger operations. Which leads me to believe they are just not interested in that business any longer. And why should they be, really? They make a fortune without it.

Tim

[Charlie Austin]

[TImothy Auld] “Apple doesn’t seem to even want to talk about this to larger operations. Which leads me to believe they are just not interested in that business any longer. And why should they be, really? They make a fortune without it.
“

I’m not sure this is true, that Azteca deal is fairly major. But, like a lot of things FCP X, it’s not a US/Hollywood organization so it gets discounted. I’m sure CNN had good reasons to choose Pr. It’s a great, familiar, “mature” solution, X isn’t.

I think, in some respects, Apples’ problem isn’t that it doesn’t listen to customers, it’s that it does. PIOP’s anyone? And the new Library setup. while nice and easy, is way less flexible in many ways than the former structure. I’m not sure it’s better yet, but that’s what customers wanted, so that’s what they got.

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~ My FCPX Babbling blog ~
~”It is a poor craftsman who blames his tools.”~
~”The function you just attempted is not yet implemented”~

[Timothy Auld]

Apple (or Avid or Adobe or Autodesk or Sony or Panasonic or Canon, et al) listening to their customers too much? This is an argument with which I am unfamiliar.

Tim

[Timothy Auld]

And, also what about Azteca? How many seats? How much invested? Is it even remotely in the CNN ballpark?

Tim

[David Roth weiss]

[TImothy Auld] “Apple (or Avid or Adobe or Autodesk or Sony or Panasonic or Canon, et al) listening to their customers too much? This is an argument with which I am unfamiliar.”

It actually seems that Adobe listens to Apple’s editor customers a lot more than Apple listens to Apple’s editor customers.