[David Mathis]

That, and frequent updates. Even if you choose to go free membership, still lots of goodies. Tutorials and other super cool stuff on their website as well.

Another company for visual effects would be Rampant Design Tools, lots of great stuff and they are not plug-ins but rather QuickTime movies. Tons of great stuff there as well. It might just be me but both Universe and RDT is an essential part of the tool set.

[David Mathis]

[Bret Williams] ” What would’ve really tripped some people up is if they had send to motion before apple!”

That would be interesting, guess that would make for a good feature request!

Wondering what Apple has planned for the 10.1.4 update.

camera operator | editor | production assistant

Remember kids, tracks are you friends when you charge by the hour. Track Tetris, game on!

[David Mathis]

The camera I have still requires the SSD to be formatted on the Mac, just a minor inconvenience. I do love the fact they added the histogram and audio meters. I think Blackmagic will continue to innovate in the right direction. They are new to some territory out there such as adding editing features to Resolve, next release will probably add more functionality. Competition is a good thing.

[David Mathis]

[Bret Williams] “What the app is dearly missing is content. No FX, titles, templates, generators, transitions, audio fx, plugins, etc. Unless you want to pay for sapphires overpriced glows and light rays.”

Which is why FCP X is a better choice for finishing. Did get an e-mail from Boris today and Boris Continuum Complete 9 is now available for Resolve, just hoping for more third-party support. Would love to see Red Giant Universe as an option. High quality stuff without breaking the bank, on monthly plan but will upgrade soon.

[David Mathis]

Is there a link?

camera operator | editor | production assistant

Remember kids, tracks are you friends when you charge by the hour. Track Tetris, game on!

[David Mathis]

[Scott Witthaus] “[Steve Connor] “I just wish Apple would give us a roadmap for FCPX again, it’s starting to feel like very slow development compared to the pace that Adobe is setting and it’s advantages are getting slowly whittled away.”

What roadmap did Adobe give us? Or Avid for that matter?”

Granted there is an average of 3 months for the update cycle on FCP X but many useful features have been added in. Libraries, better media management, not so much the next big thing like cheesy transitions. We have more than enough of those. 🙂 I prefer a faster update schedule but refinement under the hood matters more to me.

As to a road map, things can change an instant.

camera operator | editor | production assistant

Remember kids, tracks are you friends when you charge by the hour. Track Tetris, game on!

[David Mathis]

I agree. Perhaps some more stuff will be in the next update when the new version of OS X is released. Motion needs to be developed as well.
Resolve is one alternative I am looking at if Apple fails to develop X further. Lightworks looks interesting as well. Time will tell.

[David Mathis]

Thanks for posting the link and agree with everything in the article. I am in the camp of not everyone needs the entire suite of products. One thing I would like to point out, however, is that sometimes I prefer to batch export out of Resolve rather then Compressor, depending on what I need to do. Resolve feels a bit easier to use and sometimes a better choice. Not being critical of one or the other, but having a low cost alternative is a thing to have.

Here is my current “suite”:
FCP X
Motion 5
Compressor 4
Resolve 11 (full version)
Red Giant Universe
Pixelmator
iDraw
Media Info
7 to X

Odd thing is, I am on monthly plan with Universe and like it so far. I have the option to upgrade to annual (somewhat cheaper) or lifetime membership.

[David Mathis]

[Chris Harlan] “[David Mathis] “Tracks feel kind of awkward now and the fact you have to think in the “Tetris” type of mentality as I like to call it. 🙂
”

Mentality? It just depends on the complexity of the audio work you have to do. I’m guessing you don’t have to do a whole lot of layering.”

Was meant as a tongue and cheek comment and comical relief. That’s what I get for not using quotes. 🙂

Tracks are good but sometimes it feels like a game of Tetris, but not as complicated. At least that is how it feels for me sometimes.

[David Mathis]

Thanks to everyone who has replied and very much appreciate your assistance.