[Herb Sevush]

It wasn’t just the initial posting, there were more interesting comments deeper in that thread, and that thread was just one of many I have seen with repeated postings about problems with stability, especially with BM cards, and issues about quality and rendering times with ProRes work flows.

The card issue seems to be about drivers and I expect that to clear up soon. Even if I have to switch to AJA or Matrox, it’s not a big deal, as long as there is a way to get stable I/O.

The idea that working in ProRes could cause quality issues because of multiple compress and re-compress cycles is more troubling.

PPro is similar to X in that I’m waiting to see what the next revision does for multi-cam before I start testing it heavily. Avid is sort of like my Mitt Romney of NLEs, it’s always there but I keep hoping for someone else to woo me away.

Herb Sevush
Zebra Productions
—————————
nothin’ attached to nothin’
“Deciding the spine is the process of editing” F. Bieberkopf

[Herb Sevush]

[Jeremy Garchow] “[Herb Sevush] “There are still a lot of problem areas with it for my workflow”
Besides multicam, what else?”

The more I explore PPro 5.5 I’ve come to realize they have fixed many of the serious problems I had with it, most of which had to do with the crazy way they handled sound – i.e. the expectation that all audio comes in as a stereo pair. Now I realize that there are settings to make the audio mono on import and also settings to make the audio tracks on the timeline mono as well. A huge improvement since last time I worked with PPro.

However I do hear repeated complaints about using BM cards with PPro and issues with a ProRes workflow that seem troubling. Bellow is a thread from the Cow’s PPro forum. As usual some of the complaining is based on bad work habits but complaints about compressing and re-compressing ProRes files seem worrisome.

https://forums.creativecow.net/thread/3/919131#919131

I will have to evaluate these issues on both Mac and Windows platforms before making any decisions. It will be a busy spring.

Herb Sevush
Zebra Productions
—————————
nothin’ attached to nothin’
“Deciding the spine is the process of editing” F. Bieberkopf

[Herb Sevush]

[Craig Seeman] “Personally I’m more optimistic about Apple make changes so that FCPX or CPUs meets its business model goals than I am about Avid.”

I think the difference in our approach comes from the fact that I’m concerned with Avid and/or Apple only so far as they help me with my work. To that end I don’t care about Avid as a business per se, I believe that MC software will continue to survive no matter what else happens to Avid. In that same vein I don’t care if Apple makes another fortune if it entails them replacing the hardware and software I need to do my work. It means nothing to me if they find 2 million FCPX users to sell Imacs to, if in the process they make software that limits my workflow. I’m only in this for me and I don’t play the stock market.

Herb Sevush
Zebra Productions
—————————
nothin’ attached to nothin’
“Deciding the spine is the process of editing” F. Bieberkopf

[Herb Sevush]

[Craig Seeman] “An unknown though is not a failure, despite current circumstances.”

Which can be equally applied to Avid’s future as well.

Herb Sevush
Zebra Productions
—————————
nothin’ attached to nothin’
“Deciding the spine is the process of editing” F. Bieberkopf

[Herb Sevush]

[Walter Soyka] “Yes, back when Apple was Apple Computer, they could use FCP to sell high-end PowerMacs and Mac Pros — but if what they really wanted to do was move high-end computers, there was nothing tying them specifically to marketing software to creative professionals. “

The buzz from being in the media world is essential to Apple’s identity. In every Hollywood movie the laptop on the executive’s desk is a Mac, that doesn’t happen by chance. You don’t get that kind of marketing presence selling weather simulators. Now that they have that iconic presence they no longer need to serve that market.

[Walter Soyka] “Jobs’s optimism for the new product [RenderMan] soared high… “He thought that RenderMan was going to help everyday people make photorealistic images on their computers …
The world, however, was not clamoring for photorealistic rendering.”

FCPX is the new RenderMan, the revolutionary answer to a problem most people weren’t having, for a market that might not exist.

Herb Sevush
Zebra Productions
—————————
nothin’ attached to nothin’
“Deciding the spine is the process of editing” F. Bieberkopf

[Herb Sevush]

[Craig Seeman] “None of the “A” companies are primarily NLE companies, including Avid. “

But 2 of the companies make their living from the media content world and are responsive to that market. Let’s guess which one isn’t.

[Craig Seeman] “I’m honestly not sure where Media Composer fits with Avid anymore. It doesn’t seem to compel hardware sales and, unlike Apple, I’m not sure where or how it fits in their business model.”

I think you have it backward. The question for Avid is where does Unity and Isis fit into their business model going forward.

Herb Sevush
Zebra Productions
—————————
nothin’ attached to nothin’
“Deciding the spine is the process of editing” F. Bieberkopf

[Herb Sevush]

[Craig Seeman] “There was a time when Avid primarily sold turnkey expensive Media Composer systems. Now that they’ve become a company that primarily sells hardware such as Unity and Isis systems, etc, would one say they no longer have incentive to sell Media Composer software?”

Avid is a company that sells editorial solutions to the broadcast and entertainment industry. Hardware, software, anyware. Their target audience defines them; that’s never changed. The same cannot be said for the hanging fruit.

[Craig Seeman] “Apple is a hardware company. Maybe you feel they have little interesting in selling computers but the “incentive” behind FCPX is to sell such computers.”

That’s your analysis, it might be so, it might be that Job’s wanted a better Ap to cut his home movies with.

The computers Apple wants to sell have changed however, and maybe Apple was looking for a product that could help sell their new computers as they get out of the workstation market. Yes they are still a computer company, but those computers are increasingly aimed at the broad consumer market and away from complex business needs.

[Craig Seeman] “Do you think Adobe’s primary income is from Premier Pro?”

I bet it’s not with cell phones or electronics.

Herb Sevush
Zebra Productions
—————————
nothin’ attached to nothin’
“Deciding the spine is the process of editing” F. Bieberkopf

[Herb Sevush]

[Chris Harlan] “I read Herb’s point as being that when Apple primarily sold computers, there was strong incentive for them to continue to develop for the high end. Now that their primary income is based on phone sales, that incentive is no longer there.”

You said it better than me, and in English too.

Herb Sevush
Zebra Productions
—————————
nothin’ attached to nothin’
“Deciding the spine is the process of editing” F. Bieberkopf

[Herb Sevush]

[Jeremy Garchow] “Say what? The changes in the market are moot? Dude. You lost me here. “

The point I was trying to make is that looking at FCPX now and saying that it’s at the same developmental place as FCP 1 then, a statement I agree with, does not mean that it will grow as FCP1 did – the reasons being that both the entire NLE marketplace and Apple as a company are totally different then till now. Looking at the growth of FCP 1 and extrapolating to FCPX is a false analogy; it might happen in a similar fashion, but there are just as many reasons to believe that it won’t. The analogy was moot, not the market.

[Jeremy Garchow] “Would you have really, though? If PPro had a 85 camera multicam, would have really completely changed your setup?”

When I made the change from *edit PPro had just come out. My choice was going to be PPro or FCP. I tested them both, over a few months, with paying jobs. Overall, FCP was better, although there were many individual features that were better in PPro. Over the years I’ve kept watching to see how PPro was doing. If I had ever thought it would be better for my needs I would have switched, no problem. I never thought it was. There are still a lot of problem areas with it for my workflow, but if they improve multicam I will give it a shot.

Herb Sevush
Zebra Productions
—————————
nothin’ attached to nothin’
“Deciding the spine is the process of editing” F. Bieberkopf

[Herb Sevush]

[Walter Soyka] “Do you think it’s impossible that FCPX would ever be developed to the point where it’d be usable?”

Not at all, that’s why I’m still here. (that and also waiting for Aindreas’s next fussilade.)

[Walter Soyka] “Once Apple adds multicam and broadcast monitoring with the next release, what more would you need?”

Those are my main sticking points. When they deliver the upgrade I will download and try. After that, may the best (for me) NLE win.

[Walter Soyka] “If I were posting a documentary today, for example, I’d have to think long and hard about FCPX. X27 might make FCPX into a very nice offline editor. It’d be a workflow worth testing, because I do think that the organizational tools might be worth the convoluted finishing workflow.”

Not today, not for me. I find the work we do complicated enough — using multiple Apps where I don’t have to seems like asking for problems.

[Walter Soyka] “Why should a computer company be any better at producing an NLE than a consumer electronics company? It’s pretty far outside the traditional reach of either one.”

Computer software isn’t a reach for a computer company; it is for an electronics company. A Pro NLE isn’t out of the reach for a company with a Pro Apps division. A company that makes workstations seems more likely to invest in a high end editing Ap than one that makes cell phones. Some may be happy shooting on an Iphone and cutting on an Ipad – that doesn’t work for me.

[Walter Soyka] “Personally, I’m concerned that Apple isn’t interested in me or my needs anymore, so I’m evaluating my other options. Many others are doing the same. “

Another reason why the analogy to FCP v.1 breaks down. This is the polar opposite of 10 years ago when Apple’s computer mystique was built by pandering to creative’s. Now they seem to be quite happy pissing on Walter Murch so that Randy can edit his home movies more easily.

Herb Sevush
Zebra Productions
—————————
nothin’ attached to nothin’
“Deciding the spine is the process of editing” F. Bieberkopf