Is FCP X part of your five year business plan?

[Craig Shamwell]

Ok, Timothy….you ask a question and give your opinions about Premiere and MC, and then pretty much discount FCPX and Apple as not really being a viable choice. You say “we did”, with regards to staying with Apple….so does that mean you actually have been using FCPX then and now in its current form? And why, when asking such a question would you not include just what kind of work you do so that we can actually have better dialogue? Because it is a good question!
No one will question that Apple dropped the ball with its “Beta” release of the original FCPX. After all the flack, Apple pretty much stopped making promises. Many folks like you actually think that spending millions on developing cutting edge software and hardware, does not show a commitment to the professional editing world. I disagree. At this time, no other company has the solution Apple has with the combo of FCPX and the New MacPro. But lets take a look at what ‘Professional’ really means….in 2014! 15 years ago, the Pro world of Video Editing, snobbishly discounted the Web as viable Media source for the general Public. We know now that was wrong. There are companies who do nothing but create content for the Web. There are companies who do nothing but stream live events to the Web. So the paradigm as to what is Professional Video/Film Production has changes dramatically! Just because of “missing” features that may not fit the requirements of your workflow, does not make it… ‘not ready’ for Professional Video Production.
John Davidson has it right, in that as far as the future goes, especially in 4K production, Apple is actually leading the way!
And if you do just a little bit of research, you will see so many who have found that editing with FCPX is faster than anything out there. And what I find interesting is how many still hark on the “no tracks” aspect of FCPX. Years ago, there was a Custom Built NLE called the “Video Toaster”. While it had a “gridded” editing window, it was really a trackless NLE with the ability to place any media, anywhere. That Company is now Tricaster, and they use the same “trackless” editing window…still! Do you here anyone complaining about it? No…because its so much easier! Just as it is in FCPX! So…..after all that…it would make more than sense to me to include FCPX in anyone’s 5 year plan as a Professional editor, regardless of what you prefer as your favorite editor! Why? First….for 300 bucks, you can install it on 3 machines. Multi-Cam editing is as easy as it gets. Managing Media and creating movable libraries for editing on multiple computers again, saves a bunch of time. Third Party Plug-In support is better than any other NLE. Codec Support is as good as any other NLE. No one is, or can argue at how good the New MacPro is, and how fast FCPX on it! How many other computers can run multiple 4K monitors? And as a caveat, all Macs come with iMovie installed. With “O” rendering times, many professionals use it for Dailies. Its great for quick cutting and outputting direct to Social Sites out in the field. In addition, your comment on Apple wanting to “make as many $300 sales as possible” is perplexing!? Are you embarrassed by using an Editor that is so cheap? I would have paid for the new Update to 10.1. But Apple has shown a great deal of commitment by not charging(nickle and dimeing)for it. They could have made millions with a $49 upgrade fee! Instead of posting a loaded and obviously biased question with little facts about what you actually do, you need to do a little bit of research and you will see many who left Apple are taking a second look and realizing that the speed in which you can edit and distribute is unprecedented. And few occupations rival Video Editing when it comes to the saying “TIME IS MONEY!”

[Walter Soyka]

[Craig Shamwell] “in that as far as the future goes, especially in 4K production, Apple is actually leading the way! … No one is, or can argue at how good the New MacPro is, and how fast FCPX on it! How many other computers can run multiple 4K monitors?”

Apple is certainly leading the way on marketing 4K…

Walter Soyka
Principal & Designer at Keen Live
Motion Graphics, Widescreen Events, Presentation Design, and Consulting
RenderBreak Blog – What I’m thinking when my workstation’s thinking
Creative Cow Forum Host: Live & Stage Events

[Richard Herd]

[Walter Soyka] “leading the way on marketing 4K”

Red already won that marketing effort.

[Walter Soyka]

[Richard Herd] “Red already won that marketing effort.”

I’m not so sure.

Since the nMP with all its 4K awesomeness has only been out for 2 months, the fact that people have been posting Red 4K for, what, 6 years now is being washed over by a shiny, dark, tubular Reality Distortion Field that’s 4,096 pixels around.

Maybe I’ll start calling the new Mac Pro the MP4K. That thing should come with a 4K sticker in the box. It’d look good on people’s cars.

My New Year’s resolution is 4K — what’s yours?

Walter Soyka
Principal & Designer at Keen Live
Motion Graphics, Widescreen Events, Presentation Design, and Consulting
RenderBreak Blog – What I’m thinking when my workstation’s thinking
Creative Cow Forum Host: Live & Stage Events

[Timothy Auld]

Explcitly: You gotta buy the tube.

Tim

[Timothy Auld]

Perhaps trust is the wrong word. I have quite a few reasons not to trust Adobe and Avid as well. But not nearly as many as I have not to trust Apple.

Tim

[Timothy Auld]

To respond to your dense an long winded post, yes I have used FCPX in its current form (10.1) and several before that. And there things I like. And things I don’t. Not the least of which is no engagement with the creative community. But also, FCPX is still, after several years, unreliable.

Tim

[Scott Witthaus]

[TImothy Auld] “But also, FCPX is still, after several years, unreliable.”

Well hell, here I am thinking that FCPX works just fine. There ya go. Close down this forum.

Scott Witthaus
Senior Editor/Post Production Supervisor
1708 Inc./Editorial
Professor, VCU Brandcenter

[Craig Shamwell]

That is not true. Look at individuals like Steve Martin and Larry Jordan who are in the creative community. I have sent comments and recommendations through Apple many times having direct dialogue with its techs, in helping to improve the software. And as long winded as I may have been, my comments about Tricaster, which is high end industry standard, stand alone production stations used buy many, is still true!
And how is it any more unreliable than any other editor? FCPX rarely crashes on my Souped Up iMac. I never lose place if there is a crash. What your saying, that you can’t complete a project?
Its those kind of statements that I just cannot let you make when I use this editor 3-4 times a week, creating content for Web and TV.
Sure you may like a different editor, but bashing the Magnetic Timeline like its something new (when its really not)… is just not fair, when so many use an open editing window with Tricaster and formally Video Toaster for years!!! I will agree with you that FCPX is different for sure! But unreliable, no.

[Herb Sevush]

[Craig Shamwell] ” bashing the Magnetic Timeline like its something new (when its really not)… is just not fair, when so many use an open editing window with Tricaster and formally Video Toaster for years!!!”

I knew about but never used the video toaster. Can you describe a bit more how it’s timeline worked, and how it handled information without fixed tracks. I don’t see how the Tricaster is really relevant here, but again, if you think it is a bit more information would be appreciated.

Herb Sevush
Zebra Productions
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nothin’ attached to nothin’
“Deciding the spine is the process of editing” F. Bieberkopf