[Herb Sevush]

Dennis, doesn’t Adobe have their own voice recognition software?

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

[Herb Sevush]

[Craig Seeman] “I wonder when they buy Avid?”

After the chapter 11 reorganization.

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

[Herb Sevush]

[Jason Jenkins] “How is their tech support talent these days?”

At their prices they don’t believe in tech support. Fortunately I’ve never had a single hardware malfunction with any of their cards and converters and this is going back at least 7 years. If you like tech support, you buy AJA.

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

[Herb Sevush]

[Jeremy Garchow] “He saw some sort of demo where your smart phone is the virtual key to your car. It doesn’t only start it, but it virtually runs the car with directions/GPS, security hardware handshakes, etc. What happens if you lose your phone?”

Cars have been on that road for awhile. 8 years ago i bought a car that, unbeknownst to me, had a “security” key. I found out what that meant when I lost my key and tried to get a replacement. It turns out that the computerized replacement key needs the car as an initiator and I had to have the car towed to a dealer just to get a new key; the key alone cost a few hundred, let alone the towing and the time. I told the dealer I would rather take my chances with getting the car stolen and could he cancel this safety feature so I could use a normal key – the answer was ” no dice.” I now take great pains to go over the anti-theft features of any new car I get, with the idea that less is more.

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

[Herb Sevush]

[Bill Davis] “Yeah, nothing’s changing out there.”

No one has ever questioned that things are changing out there. Things always have and always will change. What is at question is whether this moment in time is one of radical, revolutionary change.

Beyonce working on FCP7 is not evidence of that.

If my friends very talented 12 year old daughter has one of her Youtube videos turn into a hit cable show that she directs – now that would be change.

If Avid and PPro come out with versions of the magnetic timeline by next year, that would be radical change.

If Apple dumps it’s entire market position in the NLE market …

Well, I guess you are right there Bill, something most definitely has changed; but Apple wasn’t responding to change, it actually created it by committing seppuku on the largest NLE ecosystem out there.

Apple committing NLE suicide is definitely a radical change.

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

[Herb Sevush]

[Craig Seeman] “I do think their intent is to gain PC switchers. “

I could see it if you said that their strategy was to gain non-editors and first time users, along with those wishing to upgrade from semi pro apps like FCP Express and Imovie, but what in FCPX’s feature set makes it desirable for Edius and Vegas users? Certainly not speed or tapeless workflow, where Edius beats the pants off anything Apple offers. Do you really think the magnetic timeline is such a huge selling point for X?

If Apple really wanted to gain PC switchers the first thing they would do would be to add access to all the GFX cards that keep Adobe users committed to thier PC’s.

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

[Herb Sevush]

[Craig Seeman] ” To state it another way, would FCS start attract more Avid or Adobe Windows users that hadn’t already moved? While FCPX may not either it might bring over those using other Windows NLEs.”

Let me see if I get this right – Apple’s strategy is to drive away high end users, a percentage of which can afford and will switch to PC computers, for low end PC users who, even if they wanted to switch programs, for the most part can’t afford to switch platforms.

The minor PC editing world is pretty small – I doubt that the total number of Edius and Vegas users combined will equal the number of seats FCPX is driving away. Somehow I don’t think the math holds up.

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

[Herb Sevush]

[kim krause] “after all avid works on a mac premiere works on macs davinci works on a mac as does color as does pro tools as does photoshop…..”

Most of those programs work faster on a PC because of the availability better graphics cards. You also have options for more expansion slots, capable of supporting multiple graphics cards among other things, the lack of which I find very frustrating on a Mac. Plus there’s the very real possibility of Apple getting out of the workstation business, making an investment in PC infrastructure more compelling.

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

[Herb Sevush]

[Bill Davis] “Perhaps it never works that way on your side of the pond… but if I had a dollar for every production pro I’ve ever talked to who lost a position to someone “better connected” by birth or marriage to a working pro in the industry, I’d be able to… well, to buy a lot more nice toys.”

Bill, I live on your side of the Pond and while there is plenty of nepotism in the film industry three is very little in the editing side of it. Unlike production, editing is very meritocratic. What family relationships often give you is opportunity and exposure, sometimes at a very young age, which is an advantage in building a career, but that said, if you can’t cut you won’t last and if you are talented and determined you will.

My being neither connected nor talented, I got by on pure luck, which to paraphrase the great sage, is better than either.

I will add that your constant references to the “high priests” of editing does make you sound rather envious and petty. Personally, I like to think of us as the “whiners.”

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

[Herb Sevush]

[Bill Davis] “Maybe I’m just weird that way. But I’ve met very few people in my life who do things over and over and never improve at all in their execution.”

A friend of mine is a head hunter in the IT field. When desktop publishing was getting started he dove right in and began doing newsletters and re-doing resumes with his new toys. The results were horrid – never used one font when he could use five, no sense of design, a total mess. And he never got better. How could he, there was no one to critique him, no one to train him, no way for him to know what he didn’t know.

I know producers that go out and shoot material that I would’ve been ashamed of when I was twelve. They’ve never studied photography, they hand their material to an experienced editor who fixes everything they screw up, and there’s no way they’re getting any better at it.

If your selling ice skates on Ebay there’s little incentive to improve your camera skills beyond the ability to get an acceptable shot – you don’t make more sales if the skates are backlit nicely.

As for your dishwashing skills, I’m assuming your trying to get it done either faster or cleaner, and being a young whipersnapper you just haven’t figured out that it’s your wife’s job, not yours (ah, for life in the “leave it to beaver” days.)

If there’s no incentive to improve, and no interest in the work, it is the rare person who gets much better at it. I’ve been doing my own laundry for almost 40 years and I’m no better now than I was
then – it’s a boring chore, clean is clean and I don’t give a shit.

Hell, it’s the rare person who get’s much better when there is a reason.

So maybe you are weird that way, and good for you.

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