Why one user Switched to FCPX

[Steve Connor]

[Michael Gissing] “Given your simple needs and total satisfaction with FCPX, I guess you don’t need or get a choice or even know what bang for buck is out in the real world.”

To be fair he is an FCPX user talking about FCPX in an FCPX thread on an FCPX forum, not sure he stated his needs are “simple” though?

\”Traditional NLEs have timelines. FCPX has storylines\” W.Soyka

[Michael Gissing]

[Steve Connor]”To be fair he is an FCPX user talking about FCPX in an FCPX thread on an FCPX forum, not sure he stated his needs are “simple” though?

No I’m stating his needs are simple as he has so often told us. To be fair I’m talking to people other than Bill who use a range of software on various hardware. Forgive me reminding Bill that this forum is for all of us users, not just a single FCPX user on an NLE debate forum. The wandering of thread topic was not started by me but having driven it off course I feel every right to respond to any attempt to narrow the debate. If you only want to debate FCPX versus FCPX on an iMac, then go right ahead and have your own thread about it. If it wanders off course I might chip in.

[Scott Witthaus]

[Michael Gissing] “Given your simple needs”

Let’s really be fair. What are your needs from an NLE?

Scott Witthaus
Senior Editor/Visual Storyteller
https://vimeo.com/channels/1322525
Managing Partner, Low Country Creative LLC
Professor, VCU Brandcenter

[Bill Davis]

[Michael Gissing] “To be fair I’m talking to people other than Bill who use a range of software on various hardware. Forgive me reminding Bill that this forum is for all of us users, not just a single FCPX user on an NLE debate forum.”

So, maybe you’re trying to talk to folks like my friends Mads and Ryan in Copenhagen running multiple broadcast TV programs with dozens upon dozens of iMacs and MacBook Pros – in largely collaborative configurations pumping out shows that feed a major market 24/7/365?

I get pretty regular posts from them with pictures of them receiving new shipments of 20 or more iMacs and iMac Pros – and have been seeing that for more than 5 years now.

You may consider *my* needs as beneath your considerations, but how do you dismiss theirs?

I’m sure it makes you feel more comfortable to hold onto the fantasy that X is just for guys like me.

But while your doing that, the industry keeps evolving.

The productivity boost that some of us are experiencing may not mean anything to you – and in fact, you may never experience it for yourself given your consistent attitude here. But that doesn’t mean some of us don’t see it as real – and are happy to invest in bringing it into our working lives.

To each their own.

As it should be.

Creator of XinTwo – https://www.xintwo.com
The shortest path to FCP X mastery.

[Michael Gissing]

[Scott Witthaus]”Let’s really be fair. What are your needs from an NLE?”

My needs are to take edited projects from a variety of NLEs (Avid, Pr, Resolve & X), grade, stabilise, do object removal and basic compositing, denoise, reframe, create titles and then reversions of that for a variety of deliverables from Vimeo to cinema, all meeting strict tech specs from broadcasters and cinemas. I also have to do the same process for audio including multichannel deliveries including a recent 22.2 mix for a museum installation. Again the audio versioning has to meet international loudness levels be 5.1, stereo and mono/ Dolby surround compatible.

I do a small amount of project origination that I edit and deliver from documentary to music video. I need a system that can handle all drive formats, codecs from DV to cDNG, r3d, ProRes, DNx, DPX etc. I need to have performance to be able to play those to a 4k monitor for real time review of grades and to QC for delivery. I need to render a range of deliverables that doesn’t take days. So my needs are for a system that can take almost anything thrown at it, turn around a final deliverable with all the tech and delivery requirements quickly and at 4k resolution, for a usually pitiful budget under tight deadlines.

For the past six years I have not had an Apple only based hardware or software solution to meet those needs. I must be able to read all the xml, AAF, OMF and EDL options that people throw at me and be able to chose hardware that I can constantly upgrade GPUs. I must also be able to plug in any sort of drive from NTFS, HFS+, ext3, with USB3, to USB-c and Thunderbolt connectors. I also need to plug in multiple drives with multiple formats and connectors at any time. So I must have cross platform software so I can chose the right hardware and OS for my particular needs.

[Michael Gissing]

[Bill Davis] “I’m sure it makes you feel more comfortable to hold onto the fantasy that X is just for guys like me.”

That’s not even close. What I say is that editors like you with your needs met by a single ecosystem of hardware and software have so little legitimacy proclaiming what a broad and diverse community might need. When asked by editors what to use, I take into account all of their needs, budgets and workflows. Sometimes I recommend they try X. Other times I suggest other systems. All that interests me is trying to make sure my editor friends are confident and capable with their tools before feeding through to me to do finishing. So I am not an advocate like you for a single system above all others because I know that is not the real world.

And no I was not talking to your friends in Copenhagen. I was talking to all who may wander the Cow and want opinions from people who live in a world where all NLEs & DAWs have to be assessed for the way they work and fit into complex workflows. From people like me who have been doing this for a long time and have worked alongside companies that have been at the forefront of hardware and software development. Your opinion is enthusiastic but narrow and often flawed by a lack of knowledge and understanding of workflows you just never encounter. You are poor at listening and prefer to throw strawmen and car analogies in to bolster your opinion.

So I have no fantasy about you or users of any NLEs. I have knowledge and experience and most importantly a lack of bias for any system.

[Greg Janza]

[Michael Gissing] “or the past six years I have not had an Apple only based hardware or software solution to meet those needs.”

Thanks for stating this. The closed Apple architecture has become quite problematic for those of us who are dealing with a wide variety of source footage and an equally wide variety of project needs. It’s become essential to easily import/export between Resolve and Pro-tools as well as After Effects. These three programs are the industry standard for Color, Sound and motion graphics and so ease of use is what it’s all about.

I Hate Television. I Hate It As Much As Peanuts. But I Can’t Stop Eating Peanuts.
– Orson Welles

[Walter Soyka]

[Bill Davis] “That GPU won’t be optimized if you’re lacking the I/O into and out of it, the heat management, and the properly matched power management, etc, etc, to allow it to work properly. “

Wait a second… are you talking smack about the 2013 Mac Pro here? ????

Walter Soyka
Designer & Mad Scientist at Keen Live [link]
Motion Graphics, Widescreen Events, Presentation Design, and Consulting
@keenlive   |   RenderBreak [blog]   |   Profile [LinkedIn]

[Andrew Kimery]

[Walter Soyka] “Wait a second… are you talking smack about the 2013 Mac Pro here? ????”

Or MacBook Pro’s made in 2011, 2012, or 2013. Or any number of iMacs that are designed to slow down once they reach a full load for a few seconds because the case design can’t dissipate the heat fast enough. Aside from the old towers, battling thermal problems seems to be an ongoing issue with Apple (over course even with the older towers Apple had to resort to water cooling for a time).