Bill Davis
Forum Replies Created
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[greg janza] “Any editing app made for an iphone is created by a team of sadists.”
I get the point.
But edit PREP can be kinda glorious.
That opinion is based on using Lumberjack and an iPad to apply tags and ratings during shoots.
I can also see a whole boatload of content keywording – color assessment – audio monitoring – and a thousand other things AROUND the actual editing that iPads could help with – either running directly in – or even just separately but “linked to” some future mobile friendly implementation of some or all of FCP X.
We’ll see.
Creator of XinTwo – https://www.xintwo.com
The shortest path to FCP X mastery. -
[greg janza]
“Can I trust Apple to actually have my back? Hell no. The original FCP7 to FCPX transition debacle shows that.
Is there a compelling reason to stay with their architecture? no.
Are they developing computers that are superior or faster? no.
Are they worth the added cost? no.
Apple didn’t hurt my feelings. Instead, their actions were the catalyst for thinking in terms of “why remain an Apple customer?””
So I guess you somehow believe that Adobe or AVID or anyone else will “have your back” going forward? Good luck with that. My advice is that if you want “vendor dependability” make sure you don’t forget to pay your monthly tribute in a timely fashion.
And what if I don’t care about “architecture” beyond the performance it provides – and I’m delighted with my level of performance as it stands? Why do I care about YOUR need to keep seeing for “superior or faster” when my relatively unexpensive stock system is already executing my editing decisions as fast as I can think? That seems really nuts.
With Apple, $3,000 for a box and $399 for tools get me everything I need. Add a couple grand for “niceties” like removable storage, peripherals and licensed content as needed -and I can step off an airplane with NOTHING and be editing beautifully on the planet in a few hours.
May not have value to you. But it’s astonishing to realize that’s where I am in my career now.
Simply astonishing.
Why remain an Apple customer? That’s the core.
Now add the investments they are clearly making in seminal technologies like the 3d depth mapping on their phones – their particular integration of the compression stuff like h-265 that are laser focused on the future – and all the research driven efficiency tools that permeate FCP X (which I mention here over and over again – and heck YES. IT”S WORTH IT.
I consider my workflow today 100 times superior to the workflow I paid tens of thousands of dollars more to achieve decades ago.
The value make me GRIN to think of it.
And sorry, but wasting even an HOUR “bespoking” a system to properly run the old code of the NLEs of my youth doesn’t interest me one bit.
Not when off the shelf with APPLE is CRUSHING it for me.
(Hey, notice that Google dropped the headphone jack from it’s phones? Looking forward to a few months of hair pulling and screaming from all of you who excoriated APPLE about that stuff. Post away!)
Creator of XinTwo – https://www.xintwo.com
The shortest path to FCP X mastery. -
[Herb Sevush] “Apparently the fault was Steve Jobs, at least according to Randy U.”
According to my family tradition – we kinda give a pass to issues “fault” when they are attached to people who were actively dying during the circumstances being discussed.
Just sayin’
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Creator of XinTwo – https://www.xintwo.com
The shortest path to FCP X mastery. -
[Oliver Peters] “So I’m not sure anyone is any safer.”
But they objectively ARE safer.
The modern cost and accessibility of MAKING changes has shifted remarkably.
Switching an installed production system for a group of editors used to take millions of dollars in capital investment.
You needed on-staff engineers. Integrators. And a host of technical folks to accompany the multi-thousand dollar components in the racks that enabled you to “edit.”
Now that array of technology has been “Swiss cheesed” out of recognizable shape.
Whole swaths of tasks – graphics – color – sound – traffic – have been replaced by easily accessible – off the shelf solutions as or more capable compared to the bespoke tools of the past – just look at in-house collaborative communications systems that were needed in the TV station era. Wire machines, fax machines, police scanners, elaborate PBX style phone systems – all totally replaceable now by running those same functions on the same computer you edit on. Your standard editorial computers – running Slack, Frame.io or Google Docs or just EMAIL, blows up whole slices of needed infrastructure.
The landscape is HUGELY different. Yet, many editors and facilities are struggling mightily with coming to terms with these changes.
They have an “approved” mindset based (in too many cases IMO), on infrastructure that they hold onto-because thats’ what they invested in long ago and it’s really easy just to keep thinking in those established workflow terms.
Some are changing. A few months ago I was in a local NetWork TV station shop and sat behind the folks working on a nationally syndicated show – and all the work was happening on “off-the-shelf” iMacs running X. Not a badge from Grass Valley, For-A, Quantel, Sony, Otari or really ANY of the common NAB “pro class” names of my youth to be seen in the suite.
It’s likely exactly the same in the Premiere shops too.
The point is, when the bill for switching EVERYTHING isn’t something like 2.6 million for a serious multi-editor shop – but maybe $100K – that changes everything.
Risk is dramatically lowered. And that’s the definition of “safer.”
My 2 cents.
Creator of XinTwo – https://www.xintwo.com
The shortest path to FCP X mastery. -
[Oliver Peters] “In one specific case – a broadcast group of stations – the production/creative services/promo folks shifted from FCP to Premiere Pro and the hardware changed to Dell workstations and Promise Technology SANs (from Mac Pro towers and Xsan).”
They weren’t one of those broadcast station groups that, a few decades ago, went big time for M2 were they?
(Obviously teasing!)
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Creator of XinTwo – https://www.xintwo.com
The shortest path to FCP X mastery. -
[Oliver Peters] “What did I actually write about FCPX around that time? So I looked it up (see links below).”
On my personal scale of “overly emotional FCP X haters that can’t see the forest for the trees” you have never been anywhere to be found, my friend.
If you were, I doubt I’d have spent nearly as many enjoyable hours as we have chatting about this stuff.
(But of course that doesn’t mean I don’t have a mental list of more than a few names that do fit that description!)
Oddly I just finished reading the new forum posts above from David Busse – another who apparently fled X for a long time, but has now clearly re-evaluated his position.
It made me smile when I got toward the bottom of his piece – and he was quite explicit that his biggest remaining issue has little to do with software value or operations – but is rather a lingering sense of personal emotional betrayal attached to Apple from their actions in 2011.
But hey, if someone wants to slow their work efficiency and be less productive because the folks who make the faster software hurt their feelings – I’m clueless as to how to address that.
I guess maybe I’d recommend adopting a cute dog to take care of your emotional needs – and shower attention on it with all the time you save using X to make your videos?
That’s currently working really well for me.
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Creator of XinTwo – https://www.xintwo.com
The shortest path to FCP X mastery. -
[Oliver Peters] “Most people didn’t need more than that to take an instant like or dislike to it. Having it in their hands didn’t really change the opinion if they didn’t like what they saw and heard at SuperMeet.
“Again we agree TOTALLY.
And this reminds me of the wonderful book David McCullough wrote about the Wright Brothers.
They flew. Then they went to the “establishment” – and the establishment TOTALLY turned their backs on them.
Local, State, Regional, National – they pounded the pavement trying to get people to listen about what they’d managed.
What they got in response was: Machines can’t fly. Period.
It wasn’t until Wilbur took their “airplane” to France and flew in front of a crowd there – that people figured out what had happened.
I’m not saying X is remotely close to as transformative as powered flight.
What I am saying is that time, and time, and time again, people have proved astonishingly resistant to change.
And that truly useful change has a history of flying over many, many peoples heads. Even very smart people.
Creator of XinTwo – https://www.xintwo.com
The shortest path to FCP X mastery. -
[Herb Sevush] “According to you Apple’s role-out was great and the blame for the bad PR should be put on some secret conspiracy to do damage to X that was beyond anyone’s control.”
TOTALLY INCORRECT.
According to me, (and I should know) Apple’s roll-out was interesting – perhaps even exciting – but nothing more than that.
I did see things I’d never seen ANY NLE do before. Clip Collision avoidance. A magnetic timeline, etc. etc.
But I had NO context to use to determine if these new things were useful – or smoke and mirror stuff.
I’ve said before – I was sitting in the room during the rollout – and around me was applause and surprise and a ton of “WOW” moments.
It was the next day I got really shocked – when I went on line and saw the initial torrent of negativity begin.
That day – I started asking myself “About WHAT?” – What exactly is wrong with what I saw? It looks interesting. It will be exciting to have new ideas to play around with.
And that was THE ENTIRETY of my opinion at the time. Reserved optimism and HOPE that the new stuff shown might be useful.
Further than that, when I downloaded the program – I had PRECISELY the same experience most people had.
I didn’t know how to use it. I was frustrated. I didn’t “get” the magnetic thing at first. I didn’t use the Browser or keywords at ALL for the first two weeks or so – because I didn’t understand what they were.
The ONLY difference between me and everyone who started immediately crowing about how RIGHT they had been months before about how “BAD” the thing was (on day one!) – was that WHEN I encountered so much I did not understand – I found myself curious to understand it.
THAT is my point, Herb.
Most of the loudest critique at the FCP X launch started in a complete vacuum of actually knowledge and experience with it during the period between April 12th and June 21, 2011.
And I’ll stand by that – because it’s the truth of things.
Creator of XinTwo – https://www.xintwo.com
The shortest path to FCP X mastery. -
[Oliver Peters] “… or are you just happy to see me? Ba da boom.”
Maybe the psychological boost from packing something that may be objectively “slimmer” than before – but also definitely widescreen?
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Creator of XinTwo – https://www.xintwo.com
The shortest path to FCP X mastery. -
[Oliver Peters] “It’s my recollection that the internet-wide negative comments started at the SuperMeet reveal”
Exactly.
And the Supermeet reveal was months before the product was ACTUALLY put on sale so anyone could assess – hands on – how It might function.
Seeing a prototype at a car show – doesn’t give you a clue about how the thing actually drives. (To keep the current small flurry of beloved auto analogies going!)
The initial negativity HAD to be based ENTIRELY on speculation – unless the only people posting all that negativity were those given “special access” – and I don’t believe that for a second.
Well before the product shipped – the negativity about X had been spreading like a brush fire for months. And brush fires cant spread unless they they have a dependable supply of fuel.
FCP X bashing before June 2011 could only have been based on imagination, speculative analysis lacking factual foundation and SPIN.
Cuz nobody actually KNEW anything more than that at the time.
I mean it’s not like we aren’t AWASH in this stuff today.
It seems like 90% of modern communications – from marketing to politics – is built around conditioning people about how they should THINK about stuff – before they have any actual experience with it. It’s pretty much the foundation the advertising industry rests upon.
The “shaped narrative” – as utterly American as George Washington’s cherry tree.
“I cannot tell a lie…”FWIW.
Creator of XinTwo – https://www.xintwo.com
The shortest path to FCP X mastery.
