Long time editor’s frustration with FCPX

[Erik Lindahl]

Not to be harsh but the AVID GUI looked like complete garbage last time I checked. They don’t even have anti-aliased fonts for crying out loud. I don’t know if garbage looking GUI = professional (even if it often has in the past).

[Tony West]

[James Ewart] “I just call old sequences and new projects “Timelines” now.”

Plus 1 on this James

[Mitch Ives]

[Douglas K. Dempsey] “No matter how many times I use the app, I must consciously read, think about and decide when I am creating a Library, or a Project or an Event. And given the way I work, I find that I must have an “Event” in every “Library” called “Edits” which contains all of my “Projects” for that Library. My head spins just trying to type that sentence!”

I can relate…

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

[James Ewart]

[Mitch Ives] ” “No matter how many times I use the app, I must consciously read, think about and decide when I am creating a Library, or a Project or an Event. And given the way I work, I find that I must have an “Event” in every “Library” called “Edits” which contains all of my “Projects” for that Library. My head spins just trying to type that sentence!””

Same with Project, Bin, Sequence no?

Pus scratch disks, audio/video preferences.

I mean which is easier to remember to do?

[Jeremy Garchow]

Except, this is now much easier as fcpx auto collects all Projects in a smart collection library wide.

I must have not been the only one to ask for library wide collections. You can even set the collections to sort out the word “snapshot” to keep all the current Projects in front, and subsequently have another that only grabs “snapshots” in case you need to go back to that *clears throat* version of the Project.

[Douglas K. dempsey]

James, don’t get me wrong. I did get over it right away, because I love X. And the whole Library package file concept is one of my big arguments “For” when pitching X or not.

But the consumer “Baby’s First Birthday” logic of Events is a blemish and non-users who scoff are not wrong.

As someone who grew up making “projects” with blocks and toys, car models, carpentry and tools, drawing, painting and graphics … The sudden misappropriation of the umbrella term Project, now used as the term for an iteration WITHIN a particular project … Sorry, but it’s “newspeak” — trying to make words mean something they are not.

I never had an issue with Apple’s “ad-speak ” when they said “Think Different” rather than the grammatical “differently.” That is marketing shorthand. But, as Oliver and others have agreed here, the confusing use of Project makes it a chore to communicate with ordinary humans when talking about X.

Doug D

[Mitch Ives]

[James Ewart] “[Mitch Ives] ” “No matter how many times I use the app, I must consciously read, think about and decide when I am creating a Library, or a Project or an Event. And given the way I work, I find that I must have an “Event” in every “Library” called “Edits” which contains all of my “Projects” for that Library. My head spins just trying to type that sentence!””

Same with Project, Bin, Sequence no?

Pus scratch disks, audio/video preferences.

I mean which is easier to remember to do?”

Actually, I didn’t say that. That was someone else statement. My comment was “I can relate”.

I stand by it. I think Apple could have done better. I also think that since so many other people have agreed, that it’s being fairly universally felt.

Was it necessary to change the terminology… no. Is it the end of the world… no. Would I like something that makes more sense… yes. Am I losing sleep over it… no.

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

[David]

Oh for goodness sakes Bill,

I’m remembering why I never post on the Cow anymore. Every post is an opportunity for the same twelve cranks to whip the same dead horse. How many posts are you going to make restating the same old trope . . “old editors don’t get it, we’re stuck in amber . . we don’t want to learn anything new and that YOU, BILL DAVIS are the apothesis of the new age, fluid, open, flexible, inviting to new young guns . . really, enough, get over yourself. No one is suggesting that we need to keep the riff faff out. That door was opened long ago. (that was a joke)

I work in FCPX everyday. It has reimagined the timeline interface which many of us honestly thought wasn’t possible. It’s cool and a breakthrough and all that. But, for this old dog . . there is something off-putting about the user experience. No one can argue the designers intentionally buried elements that professional editors need (source TC anyone) to make it more inviting. . I don’t need my editing interface to be exceedingly simple to make the lowest common denominator feel welcome. . . . I just need it to fast, stable and powerful . . . which thankfully it is. That’s why I continue to use it.

[Robin S. kurz]

[James Ewart] “Your experience of teaching students is hardly representative of an industry but you seem to stake some claim to authority.”

Aside from never having even suggested that nor did I speak of “of an entire industry”, when you have taught several hundred people, then I’d say you, too, may consider yourself an “authority” as far as NEW LEARNERS are concerned, yes. The actual topic. I was merely sharing my personal and what I think to be comparatively extensive experience. No idea how that could qualify as “disrespectful” to anyone by any stretch, sorry. Rather ad hominem imho.

And that’s completely aside from the fact that I’m far from the first or only person to make that statement or observation. I know e.g. Scott feels the same way and I’m fairly sure Bill has reported similar experiences. I don’t recall you questioning their motivation. Hmmm…

An easy 30+% of my students are highly experienced editors btw. As I already alluded to, but you appear to have missed. Many switchers, “curious veterans” and a fair amount of newbies, yes.

I also have no idea what could possibly be so “confusing” about the simple terms Library, Event and Project, sorry. Unless you can tell me of another NLE that uses the exact same type of hierarchy/organization and has some other established, industry-wide nomenclature for it. And if Project is too confusing for you, simply call it TIMELINE like I do… and you apparently already do also. So? “Library” and “Event” are THAT obscure to you? What are you going to call them? Project and Bin? Sorry, but they’re not. They are FAR more complex than that, which is why THAT would in fact be completely false and misleading. Oh the irony. A new paradigm requires new terminology. If everything were in fact the same, then you could stick with what you had… but it’s not.

I simply find the notion that the three words somehow pose some sort of actual, perceptual hurdle as far as learning FCP X. A very slippery slope and a true fallacy of false cause imho, that’s all. If that’s your biggest issue (i.e. big enough to actually waste any time on pondering) with X, then I’d say you’re in pretty good shape! 😀

– RK

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[Robin S. kurz]

[David Berez] “. . we don’t want to learn anything new and that YOU, BILL DAVIS are the apothesis of the new age, fluid, open, flexible, inviting to new young guns”

Erm… in comparison? Yeah, I’d say so. I’d also say he pretty much hit the nail on the head. Some people just can’t take the mirror when it’s held up.

[David Berez] “I don’t need my editing interface to be exceedingly simple to make the lowest common denominator feel welcome.”

Oh right. It’s not an elitist thing. Gotcha. 🙂

[David Berez] “I just need it to fast, stable and powerful . . . which thankfully it is.”

Huh? Now I’m confused.

– RK