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News
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My experience is anecdotal and somewhat limited, I admit. I have not seen the Adobe workflow deployed in a news environment. It sounds like a very compelling solution integrated with InDesign.
I have seen the NewsCutter and Active Content Manager deployed in two print newsrooms. The speed and workflow are very impressive. For organizations that want to get from camera to finished as quickly as possible, it’s a battle-tested end-to-end solution.
If Adobe is as entrenched in print newsrooms as Avid is in TV newsrooms, my guess is that they’ll come up with an equally appealing workflow. The main point I was trying to make is that workflow is a huge factor in news production. That’s the main reason I think Apple and Final Cut may not be as poised to dominate the news market as some may think.
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“Clearly all the time invested in FCP 1-7 and the FCS suite is now completely thrown out the window. Someone with FCP 7 chops and someone with no previous NLE chops is just about at the same level. If you want to leverage what you already know, then FCP X is the wrong tool.”
You completely nailed this!!!
It ticked me off also brother.
If I didn’t like so many things it could do I would have thrown it out the window.
Your Motion skills will transfer just fine.
Stuff is moving so fast in so many directions it’s hard to keep track.
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Thanks Bill.
You make some good points man…
“It’s a glimpse into a world where video editing skills are rapidly becoming GENERAL business skills – not specialist talents as they used to be.”
I liked it better when we had it all to ourselves : )
My concern was that our wages would be driven down by everybody and their mama trying to do what we do.
Guys on this board are smart and I know have talent and anybody that wants it done right is gonna come get us. No mater what we are cutting on : )
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Brad –
AVID has actually lost ground in some television news markets. The station I was former Art Director for, bought the AVID line several years ago, buying four seats of Newscutter, a Unity mass storage setup, and it set us back hugely as far as productivity went, not to mention the dollars invested. Our ownership drank the AVID cool-aid to the tune of millions in all of the 20 plus markets where they owned stations.
When the dust cleared, our productivity went down by roughly 40 percent due to constant problems with the Unity system, which really required AVID trained engineers on site to maintain it. The software was quirky and slow, and we were promised an upgrade path to HD via a very exensive card, which was never manufactured (they changed their minds).
These 20 plus stations are now entirely run with the CS5.5 Production Premium suite, and Adobe has even put their engineers on the job, making sure that their software works well with the ENPS newsroom systems. Matter of fact, I just found the news release – this switchover happened back in 2009:
Joe Bourke
Owner/Creative Director
Bourke Media
http://www.bourkemedia.com -
I’m friends with many of the still guys in my town. I have know them for years (we cover all the same events) and I speak with them about tech stuff a lot.
When they were first told to shoot video a lot of them hated it. It just wasn’t what they wanted to do.
I remember them sulking about it like it was yesterday.
They were forced into it.
These guys (my friends) don’t know anything about Avid
They are super Mac heads so they have used Imovie.
I see them just going right into X
Remember, they just want to get it done. It’s not their passion like us. They are going to go with the easiest product they know.
Did you see the Cain video? They didn’t put any titles on that stuff. Just put it up.
I could give them a demo on X and I would have them inside of 10 secs
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[tony west] ” If I didn’t like so many things it could do I would have thrown it out the window.”
But really, what can it do that others can’t? It seems to be the price point and iron control of the timeline is all that separates it. Maybe it’s easier to use to some extent, has the media management stuff 1-2 shots, (just off the top of my head) but none of the others are really that challenging and offer things that seemingly to me far outweigh the new features…
Are those the things that separate it for you?
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[Bill Davis] “But I think increasingly that if you peg “what you already know” to tool operation you’re playing an increasingly losing game no matter which NLE you operate.”
Sure. No argument from me. I’ve always felt that if you define yourself based on the specific tools rather than skill set, you are diminishing your value. The difference here though is that the concepts FCP 7 used were generally common to nearly all popular NLEs, so transferring your actual “hands on” skills from one to the other was relatively easy. That’s not the case with FCP X, since in the words of Firesign Theater, “everything you know is wrong”. 😉
In the end, if I’m hiring an editor, I am ultimately interested in the exact NLE he or she knows how to operate. More often than not, I’ve seen people hired who claimed they know FCP, Avid, etc. but didn’t and ultimately did a poor job. For example, I would never hire an editor to cut on FCP 7 or Avid if their only experience was on FCP X unless there was adequate training time and evaluation time before putting them on a real job.
[Bill Davis] “I think Tony’s story is a big deal.”
Yes, but it’s hardly new. Apple long ago adopted the view that video literacy was important. Canon stated when the 5D was launched that this was because of interest from news organizations. ProApps folks have publicly stated that they had interest from organizations like the BBC to provide something far more simple than FCP 7, as they were already contemplating iMovie. CNN just canned a bunch of folks exactly because of this trend.
[Bill Davis] “They are up against a monster competitor in Apple. “
True, but there are also news organizations who have put out purchasing edicts against Apple because of their belief that Apple is an unreliable vendor. I’m sure that won’t stick, but for them, the MacPro (or not) issue is of vital concern – more so than FCP X.
Unfortunately the sad fact today is that many companies are hiring people to do video jobs who are completely untrained and unqualified for the task. I see it in local news and corporate environments every day. From that POV, then yes FCP X is the future. Part of the logic expressed to me personally by Apple is that FCP 7 was actually quite confusing to many customers. As a result of their muddling through things like the multiple set-up options, they were producing crappy results. By design FCP X is limited and restricted in certain ways to aid this situation. It can’t do everything FCP 7 can, but untrained folks will be less intimidated and less likely to put out bad results because they couldn’t figure out the application. That sentiment came straight from ProApps.
[Bill Davis] “The question is which company is changing WITH their users – and which companies will keep trying to CHANGE their users to fit their companies needs. (an argument that can clearly be “spun” for or against either approach, IMO btw!)”
Agreed.
– Oliver
Oliver Peters Post Production Services, LLC
Orlando, FL
http://www.oliverpeters.com -
[Jamie Franklin] “But really, what can it do that others can’t? It seems to be the price point and iron control of the timeline is all that separates it. Maybe it’s easier to use to some extent, has the media management stuff 1-2 shots, (just off the top of my head) but none of the others are really that challenging and offer things that seemingly to me far outweigh the new features…”
If I had to choose one thing that I like most, it’s the skimmer and the ability to look through rushes quicker than any other NLE I’ve ever used.
“My Name is Steve and I’m an FCPX user”
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[Steve Connor] “If I had to choose one thing that I like most, it’s the skimmer and the ability to look through rushes quicker than any other NLE I’ve ever used.”
The elimination of a click though? I can skim through any media with the source viewer. I’m forced to click or slog through jkl keys but it’s not a feature that’s “missing” anywhere else…just the click
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I think you make a very valid point, Tony. Apple is positioned to capture this market. The price point is $299. It’s part of the Apple brand, and most journalists I’ve run into are very comfortable with that. Plus, for pure editing work and prep for the web, I think X’s interface is more streamlined and easier to use than the competition.
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Documentary Camera in Los Angeles
http://www.lacameraman.com
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