Christopher Gildenstern
Forum Replies Created
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This has probably been mentioned before, but it might be worth 60 seconds to hop on YouTube and rewatch Apple’s “1984” Super Bowl ad. In many ways, Apple (a company whose consumer products, by and large, I still enjoy) has become the IBM they warned us about.
Christopher Gildenstern
Creative/Production Director
Barnes Chase & Davis, Inc.
Advertising, Marketing, New Media(This space for rent)
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I believe it has as much to do with the discontinuation of FCP 7 as the shortcomings of FCP X. When business picks up, folks need to buy additional seats. Apple has just basically told the editing community, “Here’s a product which is quite obviously not ready for prime time, and if you feel like expanding your business footprint, it’s the only one we’ll sell you.” Couple that with the fact that this looks like nothing more than yet another solid, professional product EOL’d by Apple, and I think you’ll find that there are a very large number of people who feel it’s not worth giving them a year to figure out what they want to do.
Combine that with the fact that Apple has become, IMO, one of the worst tech companies in the known world at communicating their roadmap clearly, and it seems as good a time as any to jump ship. Adobe and Avid are just making it an easier and less expensive decision.
FCP X has some neat stuff under the hood. It also has, IMO, at its heart, a consumer/prosumer focus. I’m not bagging on it. It’s Apple’s software and they’re free to do with it what they will. But between their EOL practices, their terrible PR, and a new editing platform that strikes me not only as alpha-level software in terms of ability and stability but aimed at a larger consumer market, I feel they’re the ones who abandoned ship early, not the masses of editors who are now looking to migrate elsewhere.
Christopher Gildenstern
Creative/Production Director
Barnes Chase & Davis, Inc.
Advertising, Marketing, New Media(This space for rent)
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[Gib whitney] “Well it’s time to dish out some cash and replace that old Silk that got me through film school. Just wanted to see who is using what and get some recommendations. Definitely looking for something lighter weight that is easy to transport to locations.”
Still using the same Vinten Vision 3 I’ve had for about seven years. The head is perfect for anything as light as just the 7D or 5D MK II all the way up to full Cinevate rig with Xoom audio, 8″ monitor, mini LightPanel, and boom mic.
I’ve never been terribly crazy about Vinten legs, but those guys can make some terrific heads.
Christopher Gildenstern
Creative/Production Director
Barnes Chase & Davis, Inc.
Advertising, Marketing, New Media(This space for rent)
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“My questions for the forum are these: how will a new editor, just starting on FCPX, learn the craft of editing? What problems will they be “good” at solving and what problems will they be “bad” at solving, due to the design perspective of their tools?”
Admittedly, I haven’t played with FCP X for more than an hour or two (so, at this rate, the “alpha test” has only run me $150/hour…yeesh), but I have sort of a followup question regarding the direction Apple’s taken (and it doesn’t even involve OMFs or EDLs). Apologies if this has been posted. It seems I’ve been failing miserably in my forum lurking duties of late.
Even assuming Apple makes some much-needed updates to X, but the industry backlash against FCP X’s particular style of editing continues long-term, are young editors who grow up in FCP X going to find themselves overly constrained to that particular system?
As an example, my editing history goes something like this: Starting in ’95, I cut Media 100. Then moved to Velocity. Then moved to Avid MC. Then moved to Premiere Pro. Then moved to FCP. Now transitioning more of my work back to Premiere Pro. Every single one of those moves was an absolute piece of cake. Why? Because they’re all essentially the same software, behaving in essentially the same way.
FCP X, for all its good and bad points, is really nothing like any of those systems. If I have need of another body and get a hell of a demo reel from a kid who’s cutting MC, I’m confident he can transition to FCP or PP Pro pretty darn quickly.
If you grow up in Apple’s new paradigm and then decide you want to cut at a post facility using anything else, something tells me you’d better have a lights out demo for them to be willing to spend the time and effort to get you out of that paradigm.
Christopher Gildenstern
Creative/Production Director
Barnes Chase & Davis, Inc.
Advertising, Marketing, New Media(This space for rent)