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Illustrator turns 25 today. Thoughts on it, Luddites and FCP X
Saw this in my email box today, the 25 year anniversary of Adobe Illustrator. Granted I wasn’t in the industry at time, but I remember it well. So it might bring back fond memories:
This video is especially nostalgic:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N3TDmvZma84
As an Illustrator user since 1991, I can’t help think how once tools like Illustrator were a big deal, and only we reserved for the hands of the professionals. This was mostly because the concepts themselves– of commercial design and computer generated artwork — were not part of the public vernacular. Fast forward to today, and an App that accomplish about 90% of what Illustrator can do can (today’s Illustrator that is) can be purchased on the iPad for a mere $4.99. So in 25 years, we have gone from the specialized use of a technology, to those technologically concepts becoming so common place, my 6 year old can use it (the iPad app that is.)
The rapid changes of our society and technology struck me this weekend when my uncle was asking what iPad Apps I would suggest for his daughters to use on a trip (ages 6 to 10). I said iMovie. They can shoot a video of their trip and edit it right on the device for a mere $4.99. They needed no manual, or training. Just play around with it for a few minutes and go, and they are off to making a vacation video.
One thing that the Illustrator anniversary, and now FCP X, has made me keenly aware of is the incredible pace of the revolution we are engaging in. Apple was truly aiming where the puck will be with FCP X, and many of us dislike where the puck is going to be. Like Luddiites (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luddite) we believe this new technology was a death sentence to our much loved craft. Some of us even lashed out, seeking some type of revenge upon the very ones proposing this new technology.
I don’t mean to propose that FCP X is the ultimate tool for production. Apple made a bold move to propose that there was a simpler way to edit, manage, color correct, etc. There has quite a bit of stumbling with the move that Apple has made. But I think we are going to look back FCP X in 3 or 4 years and realize that it changed the course of future NLEs.
Congratulations Adobe on Illustrator. And hats off to Apple for being bold with FCP X.
Let us not be Luddites.
(BTW. I learned about the Luddites in this book, https://www.amazon.com/The-Next-Story-Digital-Explosion/dp/0310329035. It’s a book about the intersection of Society, Technology and Theology. It has given me a completely different perspective on FCP X when it is viewed in like of the history of technology. Really meant for a Christian reader, but I’m sure others could enjoy it as well.)
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T. Payton
OneCreative, Albuquerque -
81 Replies
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[T. Payton] “pple was truly aiming where the puck will be with FCP X, and many of us dislike where the puck is going to be.”
[T. Payton] “But I think we are going to look back FCP X in 3 or 4 years and realize that it changed the course of future NLEs.”
Although I’m not the only one here old enough to remember and have used 2″ quad machines, my life experience leads me to agree with you. Granted I’ve also seen many “early attempts” at innovation falter but Apple has the resources to fix things to improve the path of progress.
I was a CMX6000 user and some would have thought CMX was too big to fail. I played with EMC in the early days and they quickly fell to Avid. Apple is pushing things in a new direction with FCPX and while there’s a bunch of areas that need improvement, the innovation, to me, is so apparent that I think it will gain momentum. It’s going to be a very different industry in 3 or 4 years.
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[T. Payton] “Apple was truly aiming where the puck will be with FCP X, and many of us dislike where the puck is going to be. Like Luddiites (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luddite) we believe this new technology was a death sentence to our much loved craft. Some of us even lashed out, seeking some type of revenge upon the very ones proposing this new technology.”
Okay, I get it: you love Apple and probably believe that this mega-billion dollar corporation can do no wrong.
In the real world, just because something is new and shiny, it doesn’t automatically make it the future.
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[T. Payton] ” Like Luddiites (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luddite) we believe this new technology was a death sentence to our much loved craft. Some of us even lashed out, seeking some type of revenge upon the very ones proposing this new technology.”
We worked with that first version. I love new technology then and now.
But you’re not a Luddite for wanting new technology to actually be superior to old technology – you’re just a demanding professional trying to get your job done today without the luxury of the long view.
When FCPX’s performance matches it’s potential then maybe it becomes an Illustrator.
As someone who’s cutting another project with it right now.
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T. Payton,
You’ve dragged out the usual straw man arguments (once again): that those who are critical of FCPX are acting out of emotion and fear (fear of change, fear of technology, etc.), and further that Apple is somehow “right” about the future just because they’ve done something “new”.
If you’ve been following the forum here, you would find a wide range of challenges to both those assertions.
[T. Payton] “Apple made a bold move to propose that there was a simpler way to edit, manage, color correct, etc.”
You got this part right … Apple has made a proposal. The other part of the equation is how users have, and will, react.
You point to a success story like Illustrator, but you neglect that there are many stories of failure – which will FCPX be?
Franz.
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[Gary Huff] “In the real world, just because something is new and shiny, it doesn’t automatically make it the future.”
CMX and the CMX6000 maybe.
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[Jim Giberti] “When FCPX’s performance matches it’s potential then maybe it becomes an Illustrator.”
Note T. Payton said 3 to 4 years. Not that we know the future, not that Illustrator had much in the way of similar competitors but it may be FCPX is more distantly related to the current NLEs than some think.
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[Craig Seeman] “[Jim Giberti] “When FCPX’s performance matches it’s potential then maybe it becomes an Illustrator.”
Note T. Payton said 3 to 4 years. Not that we know the future, not that Illustrator had much in the way of similar competitors but it may be FCPX is more distantly related to the current NLEs than some think.”
Right, is that somehow not congruous with my post?
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[Jim Giberti] “When FCPX’s performance matches it’s potential then maybe it becomes an Illustrator.
As someone who’s cutting another project with it right now.
“Could I ask why you are still using FCPX after your horror story of an experience with it?
Steve Connor
“FCPX Professional”
Adrenalin Television -
[Jim Giberti] “Right, is that somehow not congruous with my post?”
Not at all. Just emphasizing that point (placing an accent mark as it were).
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yeah, I found parts of that argument very straw man-ish, and a wee bit irritating.
https://vimeo.com/user1590967/videos
http://www.ogallchoir.net
promo producer/editor.grading/motion graphics
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