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macbook air and fcpx- the new portable edit suite
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“So you are one of the ones simply dumping Apple as a platform too?”
I think Apple is a brilliant consumer hardware company. Application software and business hardware – not as impressed.
My original plan was to upgrade my Mac Pro this year. After this past June’s debacle I delayed that purchase. I am currently investigating every possible NLE option – Mac, PC, Linux – whatever. I will let my software choice determine my hardware platform. If FCPX is the best multi-cam editor out there next March, then I guess I’ll be getting a new MacPro. By all accounts PPro runs much faster on a properly configured PC – if that’s the way to go, then it will be a PC. I have no preference about hardware platforms – they both work fine, it’s the software that interests me.
Herb Sevush
Zebra Productions -
Apologies for me going postal, Walter and Jeremy. I’ve used Apple mice since Lisa, and I think they are truly hideous for anything but looking at. This has been a pet peeve of mine for 20 years.
And no, I have no life, and yes, I hate it when kids run across my lawn.
I was at MacWorld New York i 2000 when Steve did an Oprah to introduce the PRO mouse. (Which forever tainted my impression of Apple’s use of the word PRO, but that’s another story.) Behold! The zero button mouse was attached to the bottom of the chair. Admittedly, I only heard from a few dozen people sitting right around me, but the consensus was that guys were going to put them on their desks for show, and never use them. Obviously, plenty of people DID use them, and Mighty Mouse et al, I’m just saying.
Gotta give Microsoft this: they make amazing mice. Some of that is because an awful lot of their customers tend to sit in front of computers for long hours, so MSFT spends millions to develop mice that are comfortable, efficient, and supportive of joint and nerve health. Apple spends that money, and more, on design.
FWIW, that MacWorld event — the last in NY? — also introduced the Mac Cube. Absolutely the most beautiful little thing. Gorgeous. One of them sits in the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art.
Its several problems include that it transmitted vibration to your desk so strongly that you could feel it on the keys of the shiny new USB extended keyboard at the show when you put in a DVD. The case also had fine yet visible cracks that you could also feel if you touched the case — and how could you not? It BEGGED to be touched.
And while it never felt hot to the touch (at least not that I remember), you could definitely “smell” heat inside it. If you’ve smelled hot electronics, you know what I mean. Not outrageous by any means, but I can’t remember another Apple product that smelled hot. Maybe the inside of the 8100?
Which is to say, it’s likely that the world class designers who created the Cube probably didn’t spend that much time using it, or they’d have noticed these issues in just a few days, tops.
This is certainly veering off topic, but I’m not sure quite how far off topic if you know what I mean.
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[Walter Soyka] “I don’t think a lack of imagination or creativity is the problem here — I think it’s a lack of trust. Apple seriously damaged their credibility with the launch of FCPX. Given this, can you really blame people for wanting to see before they believe?”
Different issue then I was addressing but certainly an issue none the less.
Some people are criticizing the feature set or the direction they’re taking.
Others are criticizing the introduction of the product. I wont argue that. I think the lack of transition as Apple had done with OS9 to OSX or PPC to Intel is a big business mistake. Even if FCS3 continued for sale with only maintenance releases while FCPX was developed, a lot of facilities wouldn’t have been backed into a corner. I still suspect there’s an “unseen” business issue they faced but, if that was the case, it still was handled poorly as far as the end user is concerned.
[Walter Soyka] “Adobe’s Lightroom (offering similar functionality with a more traditional media management model) caught up to Aperture in no time, then quickly surpassed it in some regards.”
And the same may happen with regards to FCPX feature set. It does seem like Apple is moving relatively quickly with FCPX but there’s a lot of “catch up” involved in this case. Aperture wasn’t catching up with anything that I know of whereas FCPX is catching up with both FCP7 and the competitors.
[Walter Soyka] “It could be that FCPX is part of a developing ecosystem, or it could end up being the video version of Aperture: a cool and quirky in-between application with loads of untapped potential. We’ll all know more as it matures.”
Personally I think Apple has much more motivation behind FCPX than Aperture but we’ll have a better picture at the speed and feature set of subsequent updates. I don’t think Apple intended Aperture to sell hardware so much as to be a professional iPhoto (unfortunately). I do think FCPX is being designed to sell new hardware. Of course I have no idea if that will be executed successfully but I do think the intent and motivation behind FCPX is different than Aperture.
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[Tim Wilson] “…oh yeah, and then completely discard anything resembling a standard for a new interface (the Magic Mushroom…I mean, Magic Trackpad) that’s not all that helpful for professional media production, and only arguably a step forward because of the basic functionality it leaves out — unless you’re willing to climb a meaningful learning curve (Apple actually includes HELP videos to teach you how to use it, all in the name of progress.”
You know, I was surprised by how well some of the trackpad gestures worked when working on my laptop (I’m new to the laptop world). For a desktop, I could definitely see a new paradigm to the mouse where you use a two-handed trackpad perhaps with a display (like an ipad but larger). Perhaps it even replaces the keyboard as well (although I prefer typing on actual keys).
An industry standard is only an industry standard until it’s not. Remember when phones used to have buttons on them?
Andy
https://www.timesavertutorials.com
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[Jeremy Garchow]I don’t think tracks are problem. I don’t think Apple sees tracks as a problem. I do think they see a different way to do things that eventually will be better. Yes, better.
How exactly? How will it be better? How will it be faster?
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While the portable nature of an NLE and a laptop (or an NLE and an air or ipad) can definitely add convenience to the editing experience, there are just some instances where a suite is a must. Laptops loaded with an NLE didn’t really revolutionize editing so much as add a level of convenience.
Film theaters and TV are not going away. The internet has just added another dimension to the mix. Aesthetically, film editing hasn’t really changed much since Eisenstein and Griffiths revolutionized inner-cutting and montage back in the 1910s.
That any piece of software (or hardware) will revolutionize the art of editing is a false assumption in my book. That doesn’t mean it isn’t cool. It just adds another level of ease and nothing more. And from the vast output of (often very poor) product…I am not so sure that is a good thing. Sometimes I wish just as much emphasis was put on craft as the technology of the thing.
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[Craig Seeman] “I don’t think Apple intended Aperture to sell hardware so much as to be a professional iPhoto (unfortunately). I do think FCPX is being designed to sell new hardware. “
Craig, you’ve lost me here. I thought your argument was that all Apple’s software, be it iPhoto, Aperture, iMovie, or FCPX, was meant to sell Apple’s hardware in order to run it.
Why do you think Aperture was meant to be iPhoto Pro, but FCPX was meant to be more than iMovie Pro?
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 -
[Gary Huff] “How exactly? How will it be better? How will it be faster?”
I wrote about it last night in this thread. It boils down to data processing, as no matter what, our video is data. Imagine being able to sort the timeline as you want and being able to add/remove effects as you want, export only what you want (by Role, or whatever), arrange Roles in the order you want to export to other programs. All within a click of a button and no drag and drop. I should also mention the speed increase in editing.
https://forums.creativecow.net/readpost/335/16517
Jeremy
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[Jeremy Garchow]Imagine being able to sort the timeline as you want and being able to add/remove effects as you want, export only what you want (by Role, or whatever), arrange Roles in the order you want to export to other programs.
I already do this.
I should also mention the speed increase in editing.
I’ve edited in FCPX. It’s different, not necessarily faster overall. But, then again, that’s simply your opinion and there’s really no way to verify that one way or another.
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[Gary Huff] “I already do this.”
In what program?
[Gary Huff] ” But, then again, that’s simply your opinion and there’s really no way to verify that one way or another.”
And it’s not there yet. Roles are just the beginning the jumping off point, of how a database driven design will help manage data.
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