[Herb Sevush]

“Are you sure about this? What sells iPhones? Arguably, iTunes and all that comes with it. What sells MacPros?”

First of all I’m not sure about anything, least of all Apple’s intentions. This is all conjecture, at least on my part. Just like Aindreas I might be willing to kill a fury little kitten to find out what really was going on at Cupertino.
https://forums.creativecow.net/readpost/335/16800

“What sells MacPros?”

FCP Studio, but Apple dosn’t make that anymore. The conjecture is that MacPros are next up on the chopping block. FCPx seems aimed at the Icrowd of computers.

“I think I remember you were a Discreet Edit guy, is that right? Apologies if I am wrong about that. If you were, was your business at risk when that went down?”

Absolutely. The financial investment in edit* was much larger, the misrepresentations by Discreet management much greater – I will never use a discreet product. Ever.

“Saying Apple put your business at risk is a pretty big claim. I am just wondering how Apple put your business at risk? I can think of a few reasons, but I wanted to hear from you. Since they put FCS3 back on that market is that less of a risk?”

After the debacle with Discreet I chose FCP in large part out of the desire for stability. I am often prone to what my X wife once described as the “esoteric imperative.” The search for the best way to do something, which I often find to be in conflict with the most popular way. *edit wasn’t my first EOL, just the most egregious. Building my studio around FCP seemed the most solid stable way to go. Other than it’s multi-cam feature, which is first rate, I have never been wildly enamored with FC. But like the older but wiser woman, this time around I was going for the safe bet, I was done with looking for Romeo. So to have the company suddenly EOL my entire workflow, unannounced, leaving me with no way to migrate my older projects, no appropriate replacement tool for my workflow, no way to expand my current business, with huge uncertainty about how long I can maintain my current workflow as I am frozen in time as the video work environment is changing all around me; and with retraining costs and new unexpected equipment costs needed to help me adapt – yes I think my business is more “at risk” than before. I could more easily accept it if Apple had simply failed as a company – but to be tossed out because I no longer fit their market profile, ay, that’s where the canker gnaws.

AS to the effect of FCS3 being back on the market, that was a helpful step. Of course I am then stuck with trying to understand why it was ever taken off the market in the first place, but then that brings me back to Aindreas’s kitten.

Herb Sevush
Zebra Productions

[Herb Sevush]

“Deciding the spine is the process of editing.”

I think I’m going to hang that on my wall. Perfect. Can also substitute for the word “editing”: acting, painting, musical composition, writing …

Herb Sevush
Zebra Productions

[Herb Sevush]

I have no problem with you or anyone else liking X, I’m sure it will fit many editors needs. I do get a little feisty with hyperbolic claims for Apple. Sorry if I was a little harsh.

Herb Sevush
Zebra Productions

[Herb Sevush]

“Couldn’t disagree more! I congratulate whoever was responsible at Apple to have the guts to risk everything for what they believe in.”

What did they risk? Certainly not money, Pro Apps is chump change at Apple. When they EOL’d FCP without warning they put my business at risk, but I don’t think they cared too much about that.

“And they sure thought very hard about this. Why do you think it took so long to release a software that has quite a few things missing?”

Maybe it takes a long time to invent a 5 sided wheel. Maybe they’re a bunch of incompetent drug addled coders. Maybe they’re clairvoyant visionaries. Obviously neither you nor I know the answer, you’re just assuming you do.

“Having tracks is something editors have to struggle with everyday”

Speak for yourself, I don’t work with any editor who struggles with tracks once a year, let alone once a day.

“All NLE’s before FCPx are basically software forms of a 2 VTR edit suite. That’s why you have tracks, why you have 2 monitors for source and recorder”

As has been mentioned elsewhere some NLE’s have only had 1 viewer long before FCPx. Most have 2 because it’s better. I never saw a timeline on a CMX. There was no such thing as multiple video tracks in an on-line suite. It is as accurate to say that an NLE is an analog of a Kem flatbed with 2 monitors. Your statement has a nice ring to it but is totally without basis in fact.

“So simple decision for everybody. If you want tracks: go somewhere else.”

Many are, in droves.

Herb Sevush
Zebra Productions

[Herb Sevush]

“As I see it the main thought behind the magnetic timeline is like how you mentally create a story in your mind. That there is a “backbone”, and actual point, a summary, an abstract, a direction that encompasses the whole piece. And from there breaks away all the little pieces of the story into the secondary storyline, etc. Like when you write a book, theres the main story, and the character bakcstories just branch out of it. And clip connections and compound clips are like how you do a story board, scenes are separated scene by scene. They are like mini-stories, that when brought together creates the entire movie.”

And there is nothing that you described that hasn’t been done, over and over again, without complaint, by an army of editors for the last 20 years using tracks. The only difference being that with tracks the organizational structure is both more flexible and easier to visualize.

Herb Sevush
Zebra Productions

[Herb Sevush]

When they implement multi-cam they will have to have 2 viewers and they will have to keep them up as long as you haven’t locked the edit, otherwise multi-cam is unusable. It would be insane at that point not to allow 2 viewers as on option for all editing.

Herb Sevush
Zebra Productions

[Herb Sevush]

But a kem could have 2 or more, and I often linked multiple moviolas together, both upright and flatbed. So what’s your point? do you think editors would have turned down a preview head on a steenbeck if it was possible?

Herb Sevush
Zebra Productions

[Herb Sevush]

“I bet my nearly 19 year old son and his girlfriend watch five times the movies via download and RedBox then they see in a traditional theatre in a normal year.”

If the movies hadn’t first opened in a theater they never would have heard about them or wanted to download them. There is as yet no substitute for the legitimacy of a theatrical or broadcast (including cable station)presentation. You need to spend some serious money to overcome the noise of a million cat videos on YouTube. My guess is those movies your son watched used EDLs, OMFs and XMLs up the kazoo. In it’s present form FCPx couldn’t cut them.

I wouldn’t count on the death of theatrical presentations just yet, there is still something about watching a movie in the dark alone and yet together with an audience. Avatar doesn’t make a billion dollars as a vimeo feature.

Herb Sevush
Zebra Productions

[Herb Sevush]

“Isn’t this the crux of the whole thing, Herb? You’re bound and determined to see it in light of X being a “replacement” for Legacy. “

First off, you posted in response to something Harlan wrote, so I’m not sure if this is really aimed at me, but I’ll take a swing.

Apple announced X as the replacement for Legacy – I had nothing to do with it. They couldn’t have been more clear about that, it’s why they EOL’d Legacy. But let’s not spend too much time on that, I agree with you – it’s a dead issue.

“Look at the new possibilities of what will be. And change ones thinking accordingly.”

I am and continue to. That’s why I started this thread. It’s part of my process to view any possible successor to my workflow. It’s why I’m looking at PC solutions, Mac solutions and I’ll look at Linux solutions if they show up. I have nothing invested in any other system so I feel free to make the best choice for me. Can you say the same? I hope so.

“But now everyone else has a whole new tool that is excellent for one new way of working.”

I appreciate that FCPx is working so well for you and so many others. As for me, I feel fortunate that I am still able to work in the “classic” mode, although I’m not very monolithic. My main issue is that FCPx seems to be excellent for “one new way of working,” while I prefer my editing systems to be much more flexible, capable of working in many different ways.

But when the multi-cam update comes out I will give FCPx a look and then may the best NLE for me win.

By the way, great shot – love the 5d.

Herb Sevush
Zebra Productions

[Herb Sevush]

“Why would Apple waste time on an EDL exporter when there’s so much more work to do first?”

That’s the question isn’t it? What are the priorities? Apparently EDL exports, multi-cam and video monitoring weren’t, while Imovie importing and presets for Youtube were.

And broadcast editors weren’t supposed to infer anything from those choices?

Herb Sevush
Zebra Productions