Semi-OT: Is it time to just call it “FCP” again?

[Andrew Kimery]

Name change to macNLE Pro? 😉

It’s probably a regional thing, but in my neck of the woods “FCP” still means FCP Legend so you have to say FCP X (or the new FCP) when referring to FCP X. I’m sure in time “FCP” will eventually mean FCP X and you’ll have to say ‘the old FCP’ if you mean FCP Legend, but we just haven’t gotten their yet. It’s only been somewhat recently (again, in my area) that FCP 7 use has really dropped off.

[Douglas K. dempsey]

I dunno, saying “X” is kinda cool. No “FCP” at all, just … X. With drop from the OS, makes the appellation unique to FCP

Doug D

[Shane Ross]

I’m with Andrew. If you say “FCP” then people assume FCP LEGACY. Need to say FCX or FCP-X for people to know you are talking about the more recent one.

Shane
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[Michael Gissing]

In my area of broadcast & cinema docos FCP7 is still the most popular NLE, followed by Premiere, Avid & X. I am about to do the first X doco in a while. I have done probably 25 docos since the last X project which was a short film. It would be totally confusing to drop the X and a post workflow problem if an editor said just FCP without differentiating.

Many of my colleagues see Resolve and Premiere as the upgrade from “Legend” not X so it remains a minor player in my world.

[Charlie Austin]

[Michael Gissing] “and a post workflow problem if an editor said just FCP without differentiating.
“

Just curious, how come? You still export EDL’s, Audio AAF’s and Video AAF’s if needed right? Other than no OMF, (which is a zombie format that must die, like FCP 7 lol), it’s the same stuff right?

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~ My FCPX Babbling blog ~
~\”It is a poor craftsman who blames his tools.\”~
~I still need to play Track Tetris sometimes. An old game that you can never win~
~\”The function you just attempted is not yet implemented\”~

[Tim Wilson]

This one’s tough. There are definitely youngsters coming up who’ve only ever worked with X, and who refer to it as FCP…but in the context of this particular forum, there’s a 15 year head of steam for “FCP” referring to a specific thing that is not-X.

I’m with Douglas, that for the most part, “X” is more descriptive of this forum than “FCP” is….but I’m not sure that we’re ready to name the forums “Apple X” and “Apple X Debates.”

More like “Ex-FCP Debates.” 🙂

[David Mathis]

I am going out on a limb here but why does Apple not name the versions of Final Cut Pro after their newest OS by any chance? That would make more sense to me. They could at least at how Adobe describes their versions. To me X seems kind of outdated.

[Michael Gissing]

[Charlie Austin] “Just curious, how come? You still export EDL’s, Audio AAF’s and Video AAF’s if needed right? Other than no OMF, (which is a zombie format that must die, like FCP 7 lol), it’s the same stuff right?”

From FCP7 the workflow to me is xml from 7, omf. Simple and it goes straight into Resolve and Fairlight.

From X, fcpxml into Resolve no problem so same same. AAF from X (I always have to ask “Have you got X2Pro? No well you’ll have to buy it. Make sure you get the proper one that can trim files and add handles”) Then AAF into Fairlight. But we always have to do a test to make sure they can get the audio AAF out and learn how to drive new software.

Big difference is 7 has a perfectly good omf tool built in that works. Simple and reliable. When I tell the editor he has to buy software to export an AAF, they normally moan and want to buy the cheaper version which I have never had success with. The other huge difference to me is that when they just turn up on the day without contacting me first with a drive and an FCP7 project, I can load it onto my old Mac with Legend and sort what I want. With X I send them home to make the proper files. It’s a waste of time when editors assume. At least with Pr & Legend I can fix it here. I’m not going to buy a new Mac plus X plus X2pro to fix a problem from an NLE that I rarely see.

That’s the difference for me. When you say OMF must die, you clearly assume AAF is more reliable and has something extra to offer. Not to me. OMF is far more reliable because it is EOL software. AAF has a whole lot of things I don’t want from an editor – EQ, dynamic mixing etc. That’s just more stuff to delete before I can get on with tracklay and mix. And don’t talk to me about baked stems from Roles. It is the fall back when AAFs don’t work and guess what. All that baked in EQ and mixing is what I need to get rid of.

So in a nutshell. Not the same. Premiere is the same. xml and omf. Also reliable. X is the curve ball to use a sporting metaphor. Couldn’t think of a car metaphor

[Claude Lyneis]

Stick with X. FCP still means 7 and this may never die until all those editors who used 7 die.

[Charlie Austin]

[Michael Gissing] “From X, fcpxml into Resolve no problem so same same. AAF from X (I always have to ask “Have you got X2Pro? No well you’ll have to buy it. Make sure you get the proper one that can trim files and add handles”) Then AAF into Fairlight. But we always have to do a test to make sure they can get the audio AAF out and learn how to drive new software. “

I get that, but here’s the thing… to get the perfectly good OMF tool in FCP 7, you need to buy it right? FCS was about 1000 bucks US (not sure about the Aussie $$ price). If an editor is doing work that requires audio turnovers in X, they need to buy a copy of X, and X2Pro (pro) or they’re not really prepared to do their job. And it’s only 550 bucks. (add EDL X, Motion and Compressor and it’s still only $750) Any way you slice it it less than what they paid to do this in 7.

Now I realize you may not be able to tell your clients what to deliver and how to do it. But in this market, if I told a post house I couldn’t make an AAF, or had to send them comped stems, all I would hear was hysterical laughter. 🙂 So, I own the tools I need to deliver in a “pro” workflow.

And with those tools – again for a lot less $$ than the cost of the old FCP – it’s exactly the same workflow. Open sequence, click a button to make an AAF/EDL, whatever. Easy. Easier actually, as X2Pro via Roles will split out my cut into perfectly organized tracks for me. Saves me time, and saves my mixers time. In a former life I was a mixer, and cleaning up the messes that many editors dumped on me was a huge waste of time, as I’m sure you know.

[Michael Gissing] ” AAF has a whole lot of things I don’t want from an editor – EQ, dynamic mixing etc. That’s just more stuff to delete before I can get on with tracklay and mix.”

I’m pretty sure X2Pro ignores effects, and there’s a checkbox to ditch transitions. As to levels, I’m not familiar with Fairlight but in PT its just a couple clicks to zero everything out. And using AAF, mixers I work with love the fact that all the tracks come in perfectly organized and properly named. That saves them a ton of time.

It’s perfectly understandable that you wouldn’t want to spend $150 to buy a copy of X2Pro as you don’t see the need. Though… if you had it an X editor could bring you a drive and an fcpxml file and you’d be all set. But anyone cutting in X professionally should have all the tools to do a professional job. And seriously, it’s not that much $$ and you pay it once. The fact that your clients don’t want to do that isn’t a problem with FCP X. At all.

In my worthless opinion of course. 🙂

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~ My FCPX Babbling blog ~
~\”It is a poor craftsman who blames his tools.\”~
~I still need to play Track Tetris sometimes. An old game that you can never win~
~\”The function you just attempted is not yet implemented\”~