Bill Davis
Forum Replies Created
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Michael,
Three things the way I see it.
First, I’d never used it’s deck control utility – so that was new to me. (and yes, I realize that other programs do the same, but it was NOT proven to me that X would be useful in “deck control” situations until I experienced it. I’d previously thought of it exclusively as a “file based” system.
Second, I don’t know Premier or Avid well enough to evaluate whether they also “build databases” around clips like I’ve recently experienced in X. In my years of FCP-Legacy use, I’ve come to view “projects” as stand alone entities. I haven’t seen the ability to search across and around collections of information about global assets. Perhaps these abilities are in the other software, but they are new to me.
Finally, my entire orientation has always been that I would a significant penalty in performance for using anything less than the newest, largest, and fastest system that I can afford. I’ve suffered years of dropped frames, hiccups, momentary freezes and crashes in working with edit systems that were less than “hot-rodded” with maxed out specs. In fact, my FCP Legacy thinking was always “It would be much better if I could only run this on better hardware.” That has involved not just the base processor(s), but RAM, HD arrays, and add-on cards. The performance I’m seeing from my i7 laptop with a single Firewire 400 drive has been very reassuring to me with regards to FCP-X.
Again, perhaps Premier and/or Avid are doing the same and will run on a simple notebook just like X does on mine. But it’s counter-intuitive to my traditional thinking. I would have NEVER attempted to run a job like the one I described on such basic hardware in the past. (And to be frank, the reason I set up my “experiment” taking the footage down to the coffee shop was so I’d be insulated from the client in case something went wrong.
If I keep getting these kind of results, I’ll start telling clients “just give me a few minutes at a desk or in the board room and I can get this done for you.
I’m not there mentally quite yet.
But I’m getting there.
I’m not here saying FCP-X is superior to anything else. I’m here relating what I’m experiencing in day to day, average editing tasks. I think it’s important because many people reading these threads have probably gotten the impression that since it doesn’t do something that the high-end “disappointed” crowd is upset about, they might extrapolate that to thinking it doesn’t do solid BASIC editing well.
And that’s simply not the case in my experience.
For what it’s worth.
“Before speaking out ask yourself whether your words are true, whether they are respectful and whether they are needed in our civil discussions.”-Justice O’Connor
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Well, perhaps some of us simply believe that the story of X is significantly broader than you might be seeing right now and don’t want to limit ourselves to making career “make or break” decisions based on your personal arbitrary timetable.
While I understood X’s “relational” over Legacy “flat file” idea, I’d never even considered how that might relate to something like searchable player sports bios until the Fox sports editors
post in the thread below.Now I’m thinking of all sorts of similar “data base” driven video opportunities that might benefit from similar capabilities. The “suite” of searchable orientation videos in the pre-op surgical office. The video course content for the cooking school. And a thousand other places where an integrated modular production, revision and, yes SEARCH environment makes a lot of sense over just a product built to do strictly “single project and move along” editing as we have in most of today’s packages.
In fact, in this new context, the entire Event Browser structure is looking more and more interesting to me now.
So sorry, but your idea that I must decide RIGHT NOW whether to make a potential career affecting decision to accept or ignore the first significantly different approach to video editing I’ve seen in well more than a decade of making my living around content creation seems really, truly stupid.
And, heck,the risk is that I might have to pay an extra $500 if I decide at some point in the future that I need to change editing software?
While I’m as cost concious as the next self-employed guy, I have run quite a few overnight shoots where our craft services budget was significantly more than that! So I think I’ll take a deep breath and think about this some more if you don’t mind.
“Before speaking out ask yourself whether your words are true, whether they are respectful and whether they are needed in our civil discussions.”-Justice O’Connor
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Perhaps certain particular trees are beginning to emerge from the larger murky forest?
FWIW.
“Before speaking out ask yourself whether your words are true, whether they are respectful and whether they are needed in our civil discussions.”-Justice O’Connor
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[Chris Harlan] ”
All I’m BMWing about here is your BMWing for people to stop BMWing, and the occasional maxim you put forward that says, basically, “if you don’t like it, buzz off.”
“Well, Chris,
If nobody ever steps up and publicly says, “enough already with the BMW” then it’s likely that this specific board will always be nothing but a reflection of the “NOT” view. Something it’s in serious danger of already being.
As I and a few other voices constantly aver, FCP-X is a high-functioning new youngster. It has plenty of gaps in it’s “institutional wisdom” – but heck, if back in 1999, that’s all anyone had ever talked about with FCP-V1 was ITs shortcomings, – (no JKL support, no Beta SP support via RS-323, 422, only Firewire i/o, limited and “cheesy” built-in effects, etc, ad nauseum) then the editing industry landscape of today might be very different.
It’s “grace period” during it’s initial roll-out – and the constant evolution of not just the program, but the view by the larger industry of first it’s “sweet spot” then it’s growing capabilities, and eventually it’s unprecedented success as it evolved into the dominant general use editing platform in the world, are a story I believe to be worth remembering.
We’ll see.
Oh, and as to your enjoyment of my experiences deploying FCP-X, hold on for a couple of days. I’m doing something with it on Monday that looks like it will be an interesting minor exploration into a new (for me, anyway) arena.
I’ll let you and everyone else here know how it works out.
“Before speaking out ask yourself whether your words are true, whether they are respectful and whether they are needed in our civil discussions.”-Justice O’Connor
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Because, Steve the most fundamental of all the rules have now OBVIOUSLY changed.
That idea that it’s not the equipment, but the talent of the editor?
Scratch that.
We were all wrong.
Turns out the sooner you can get a better piano IS the key to becoming a better piano player. Who knew!
Simple, huh?
(sorry, couldn’t resist a tiny bit of gratuitous public snark, it’s a flaw in my character;)
“Before speaking out ask yourself whether your words are true, whether they are respectful and whether they are needed in our civil discussions.”-Justice O’Connor
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[Walter Soyka] “I’m dinging Apple for failing to offer the foundation for that ecosystem. FCPX’s deficiencies wouldn’t be so bad if third-party developers were better able to work on them.
Again, I’ll point to Adobe’s recent 64-bit rewrite of After Effects. They treated third-party developers as partners and worked with them in advance of the release of CS5 to ensure that they could have products ready when CS5 launched. The fact that major developers heard about changes to FCPX’s architecture at the same time that users did is incomprehensible.”
Walter,
I know nothing about Apple’s (or Adobe’s) internal decision making. And I also understand that working with “selected partners” is vastly different than giving everyone the keys to the kingdom, ala “open source” initiatives.
However I read this earlier today and thought it you might find it interesting.
It’s essentially an Ars Technica piece on how sometimes, “openness” isn’t always the best and clearest path to excellence.
It’s not necessarily on point regarding this particular discussion. But it did expand my thinking on my general view of circumstances where “openness” sometimes has unintended and very negative consequences.
Steve Jobs appears to have understood this well in advance of most people, and there seems to have been a significant method behind much of his “walled garden” madness.
Interesting stuff.
“Before speaking out ask yourself whether your words are true, whether they are respectful and whether they are needed in our civil discussions.”-Justice O’Connor
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[Chris Harlan] “[Bill Davis] “X is for me, right now. But clearly not for everyone.”
We know.
Good. Then I’m doing the job I want to do. Providing a voice for the people who come here and might enjoy reading multiple perspectives.
[Bill Davis] “I also know that Life’s too short to live in unnecessary frustration — but it’s also too short to spend excessive time in what a professional speaker I know described in a recent seminar as “the amazingly popular new BMW” : Bitching, Moaning, and Whining!”
FYI–You do an awful lot of bitching, moaning and whining about other people’s bitching, moaning and whining. This thread is about people making a list of small things that would make FCP X useable for them. That seems to me a positive thing. Why are you BMWing it?
See above. Same answer. I’ve got no problem with threads like this, by the way. I just like to provide the counter-voice to the ones that constantly IMPLIE that FCP-X is somehow “broken.” when in fact, it’s not “broken” at all. Just not fully developed. Some readers here get that. Others, particularly those who aren’t as “deep” into the dissuasion as you and I, don’t see the balance. So I like to provide some.
What’s wrong with that? This is a public discussion, not just the “pro editors clubhouse.” That’s important to remember.
[Bill Davis] “I’m moving ahead with X, cause it feels right for me. If it doesn’t for you – for any damn reason you can imagine – change.
Couldn’t be simpler.”
Really? So we shouldn’t talk about things that we feel might improve the program? Just totally accept it or go? Sounds a bit defeatist to me. You’ve got to stop all that BMW and start looking on the bright side of things. “
Talk all you like. And I’m not defeatist at all. I just understand in the un-moderated, free for all that is public discourse in the modern world, things are better if we get to see MULTIPLE perspectives.
Are you saying that somehow mine is LESS valuable than anyone else’s?
“Before speaking out ask yourself whether your words are true, whether they are respectful and whether they are needed in our civil discussions.”-Justice O’Connor
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Aindreas.
Fairly pointed out.
I apologize for my tone.
I was just SHOCKED to see someone characterize an event that I worked very hard to help present for the SuperMeet team characterized as something so totally ALIEN to what I remember it to be.
As I clearly mentioned, I spent the night working the event. So I didn’t have the luxury of assessing any “real time” web posting. So I had no recollection that a part of the audience was leaping to trash FCP-X since as I noted, I didn’t here a SINGLE voice express that from the crowd.
But with the benefit of hindsight, I’m still not convinced that whatever “trashing” that took place was more actual assessment of real weaknesses, or more “I don’t understand this, so I’m going to call it CRAP before everyone else does.”
People are STILL spreading the word that it’s a “failure.” And is it really? By what standard? Can’t one cut video on it? That’s FALSE, it does that quite well. Can’t one do “professional” work on it? Again, FALSE. I have and continue to. Is the “Magnetic Timeline” such a poor design that it stops people from getting their work done? Again, FALSE. It’s simply different.
People can and will argue whether these are the “best” methods of interface design. But they are functional and robust and they also, arguably, would meet the needs of the VAST majority of working video editors out there today outside the “big shop” pros.
So excuse my hyperbole.
(It’s a debate tool that both of us possibly rely on a bit overmuch, no?)
“Before speaking out ask yourself whether your words are true, whether they are respectful and whether they are needed in our civil discussions.”-Justice O’Connor
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Honestly…
The “Supermeet” rebranding was barely on anyone’s radar at that point in time. Prior to that it was the LAFCPUG Supermeet – in which the FCP was Final Cut Pro. So that anyone would think that a hugely anticipated FCP re-write launch from Apple wasn’t what the crowd was primarily interested is seeing is again, revisionist. Mike and Dan were both understandably stressed since they knew what Apple’s last minute decisions to unveil FCP-X would mean bumping their other sponsors, but honestly, from a purely “satisfy your core audience” perspective, their hands were completely tied. Nobody among us would have seriously entertained making a different call. I’m totally confident in saying that.
At the NAB Events prior (and I helped Horton with virtually ALL of them from the very first) Apple presented right alongside demos from the other “A”s – notably the Cow’s very own Tim Wilson, who I have to say was at the very APEX of the talent pool in skilled “users group” presenters.
(For those reading who’ve never had much users group experience, I had to say that NAB booth work is one thing – dealing as it does with with large and varied crowds. But the large User Group presentation is unique in that you’re dealing with a group that typically has a their “bullshit detectors” set to stun. In this environment I’ve never seen anyone better than Tim. He did his amazing work after what must have been countless hours on his feet in the show floor booth doing demos all day – and If there’s an IRON MAN award for great demo guys – Tim Wilson should absolutely be in that hall of fame.)
My perspective anyway.
“Before speaking out ask yourself whether your words are true, whether they are respectful and whether they are needed in our civil discussions.”-Justice O’Connor
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To answer the original question above is so simple as to be trivial.
What would it take to make the people who use it happy? It must solve the editing problems they face. Period. End of story.
X is for me, right now. But clearly not for everyone.
If those problems revolve around large collaborative workflows, it’s going to take quite a while, IMO and the sensible thing to do is assess whether you can freeze your workflow as it is today in order to see if it evolves enough for you — or you have to switch software in order to do what you need to do as quickly as you need to do it.
Modern LIFE is, after all, increasingly a constant, on-going learning curve.
I’m enjoying what it does uniquely and differently – and the new capabilities it gives me in relation to the way I need to edit – mobility, agility, not being locked to my studio in order to produce useful work – those are the capabilities I see as enabling me to thrive in the future I want to peruse. For others, those things are low order priorities, and I get that.
I also know that Life’s too short to live in unnecessary frustration — but it’s also too short to spend excessive time in what a professional speaker I know described in a recent seminar as “the amazingly popular new BMW” : Bitching, Moaning, and Whining!
His message: things are NOT the same as they used to be. In the economy, in business, in life. If things are still doing fine for you – excellent. Keep doing what you’re doing – as long as you can – and if that means finding a replacement for what FCP no longer will be – do that.
But if you start to see things aren’t going to continue working in ways that benefit what you need to do – dump them and move to something different. You finally have an alternate choice that doesn’t work the same.
I’m firmly convinced I’ll know what’s good for me when I see it. I won’t have to have anyone else point that out. Because I’ve been making similar calls my entire career – and my track record has been largely successful in keeping with my personal skills and abilities.
I’m moving ahead with X, cause it feels right for me. If it doesn’t for you – for any damn reason you can imagine – change.
Couldn’t be simpler.
“Before speaking out ask yourself whether your words are true, whether they are respectful and whether they are needed in our civil discussions.”-Justice O’Connor