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Off the Tracks is apparently done.
Got the email today that the FCP X documentary “Off The Tracks” is finished and available on-line as of today.
Whether you personally resonate with the content, the overall narrative, or ANYTHING in it – I’ve got to say that Brad Olsen has done a remarkable job of using bootstrap Kickstarter funding and personal moxie – to field an awesome looking final product that easily holds audience interest from the first frame to the final credits.
It looks gorgeous.
My favorite part was listening to FCP Creator Randy Ubillos and Dave Serf (who was obviously on the development team at Apple at the time) – comment on the theoretical underpinnings of the software. I found that REALLY fascinating.
https://www.offthetracksmovie.com
Full disclosure, I’m a very minor interviewee in the movie and I liked Brad when we met, so he asked me for an interview – when he launched the Kickstarter, I joined the backers with a whopping $25 just to help him out. I have no other connection to this.
Turns out for my support, I also get the whole “behind the scenes” hour long Randy Ubillos interview tossed in – something I’m VERY MUCH looking forward to watching when I have the time.
Let the debate begin!
Creator of XinTwo – https://www.xintwo.com
The shortest path to FCP X mastery. -
26 Replies
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OK…let me ask some very basic questions about this documentary…as a documentary filmmaker.
What purpose does this documentary serve?
What is this documentary trying to say?
Who is the intended audience?Basically…what is the point of making this documentary? To me, it seems like either “damage control,” trying to say “hey, the launch was bad, but this really is great software! It is…really…” or it is a marketing tool. “This software opens up editing to a whole new crop of people. In today’s world everyone needs to be able to edit video…tell stories with video, and this software enables you to do that.”
This seems like a marketing tool aimed at trying to convince editors who use other tools to choose FCX. Try to convince us that Apple made a revolutionary tool that is freeing…that yeah, it was bad at first, but really…it’s good stuff!
What is the message of this doc? Who does it serve?
Again, to me it seems like a marketing tool, one that costs $9.99 to view it. But that’s what I get from the trailer, and really, that’s the tool that needs to convince me to watch. Thus far, I’m not convinced. And I’ve gotten past the pain of the transition. I recognize it as a viable tool in the professional world. But it still seems like it’s message is, “HEY, FCX IS A VIABLE TOOL FOR THE PROFESSIONAL WORLD…really! It’s revolutionary….you just haven’t seen that yet.”
Shane
Little Frog Post
Read my blog, Little Frog in High Def -
[Shane Ross] “you just haven’t seen that yet”
☺
– Oliver
Oliver Peters – oliverpeters.com
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I would tend to agree. While I would like to watch it simply because the names and faces are familiar and I use and really like the product, I feel uncomfortable calling this a “documentary”. Feels like marketing to me.
Perhaps if this was under the umbrella of a TV series that profiled radical change in industry, maybe I would feel better. But like Shane said, what purpose does this serve?
Scott Witthaus
Senior Editor/Visual Storyteller
https://vimeo.com/channels/1322525
Managing Partner, Low Country Creative LLC
Professor, VCU Brandcenter -
I agree with Shane’s assessment and it’s also worth noting that from the trailer it looks to be a promo with nothing but white males. Not exactly an example of diversity.
perhaps instead of trying to get people to drop $10 to see it, sell it to Apple and they can add it into their marketing machine.
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[Shane Ross] “What purpose does this documentary serve?”
To tell the story of probably the most controversial NLE launches ever?
[Shane Ross] “What is this documentary trying to say?”
Watch it and find out?
[Shane Ross] “Who is the intended audience?
“FCPX Users?
[Shane Ross] “But it still seems like it’s message is, “HEY, FCX IS A VIABLE TOOL FOR THE PROFESSIONAL WORLD…really! It’s revolutionary….you just haven’t seen that yet.”
“So you’ve seen it then?
I’d be interested in watching it, I don’t think I’d pay $9.99 though
\”Traditional NLEs have timelines. FCPX has storylines\” W.Soyka
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[Shane Ross] “What purpose does this documentary serve?
What is this documentary trying to say?
Who is the intended audience?”To examine how disruptive technological change effects people.
That such change is pervasive and accelerating, and hard to manage.
Anyone interested in those themes.
Like the point I made in the doc, actually – it’s curious that nowadays people form such strong opinions – about stuff they haven’t yet experienced.
Cioni, Ubillos and others all speak to these themes. And both Randy snd Dave Cerf of the Original Dev team discusses some of the philosophical underpinnings of the WHY behind X.
That was fascinating, to me at least, YMMV.
Creator of XinTwo – https://www.xintwo.com
The shortest path to FCP X mastery. -
[Steve Connor] “So you’ve seen it then?”
No, I haven’t. The trailer makes it look like a long marketing video, which I have no interest in seeing.
[Steve Connor] “[Shane Ross] “What purpose does this documentary serve?”
To tell the story of probably the most controversial NLE launches ever?”
That’s not what the trailer lays out. It appears that’s a small part of it, but it really seems to be “the FCX launch was bad, and it turned a lot of people off to it. But really, it’s revolutionary and amazing and does things and goes places no other NLE goes!” So…marketing. If it’s intention was to tell the story of the launch…then I’d be seeing clips of the LAFCPUG SUPERMEET where it was launched…and perhaps video of people’s first impressions at the time. More talk about WHY it was done the way it was done. WHY those choices were made.
If that really is what it’s about, then the trailer didn’t do it justice. If someone who has seen it can tell me what story the doc tells, I might be interested. But the trailer makes it out to be “It started bad, but really, it got better and is now amazing.” Damage control.
[Steve Connor] “[Shane Ross] “Who is the intended audience?”
FCPX Users?”
So…you don’t know? And if it is, is it just a video to justify their loyalty to the NLE? Again…what is the PURPOSE of the doc. For example…
MAKING A MURDERER…the premise is that this man was falsly accused of murdering someone and the doc series goes to show how he was steam rolled by the cops and prosecutors.
SALESMEN…a look into the life of a door to door salesman. Their lives, thoughts…and often tactics they use to sell products. I found it humanizing…showing the challenges they face in going door to door.
LO AND BEHOLD (Werner Herzog). Sets out to show the start of the internet…and showcase the amazing discoveries that came about because of it…as well as the darker sides of technology. How it impacts our lives…good and bad.
AND NOW LOVE (a doc I edited)…the story of a pilot shot down behind enemy lines in WWI, who met a nurse who showed him that love is the answer…the key he believes is the ending human suffering. And shows the journey he took to become a psycho analysist, the battles he fought to bring this theory out…the resistance to it. And ends showing the theory, and people it impacted.
So, is the purpose of this doc to show “Hey, the launch sucked, and the new version lacked a lot of features…and it should have been a dissolve rollout not a hard cut roll out, but really…it got better and now opened the world of editing up to a lot more people…and that itself is revolutionary.” If so, that’s it’s purpose…it’s message. That’s why I asked, what is it? I don’t now, I was hoping to find out…because the trailer didn’t make that clear. The music and clips used make look like a marketing tool.
Shane
Little Frog Post
Read my blog, Little Frog in High Def -
Can somebody please spot Shane the $9.95 do he can switch to commenting on the actual MOVIE?
We’ve all seen trailers that make good movies look meh, and even more that make crap movies look fabulous.
The best way to know how good or bad this movie is – would probably be to just watch it.
Just my 2 cents.
????
Creator of XinTwo – https://www.xintwo.com
The shortest path to FCP X mastery. -
[Bill Davis] “The best way to know how good or bad this movie is – would probably be to just watch it.”
Or…have someone who’s seen it say “Hey, it was pretty good. It was about…” and lay out some basics. It’s called “word of mouth.” So…I might wait for that. from an un-baised source…
Shane
Little Frog Post
Read my blog, Little Frog in High Def -
[Shane Ross] “So…I might wait for that. from an un-baised source…”
Your time, your popcorn, your call.
????
Creator of XinTwo – https://www.xintwo.com
The shortest path to FCP X mastery.
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