Scott Witthaus
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Apple Final Cut Pro X Coins
3
COW Coins
Forum Replies Created
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Thanks Bill. I may be contacting you.
Scott
Scott Witthaus
Senior Editor/Post Production Supervisor
1708 Inc./Editorial
Professor, VCU Brandcenter -
[Robin S. Kurz] “Certainly no one that has little to no experience actually working with X, no.”
Bingo!
Scott Witthaus
Senior Editor/Post Production Supervisor
1708 Inc./Editorial
Professor, VCU Brandcenter -
[Brett Sherman] “I don’t think the 2-3X faster is really a scientifically derived statistic.”
For me, it’s not just the working faster part. I tend to believe the old “Good, Fast or Cheap: Pick Two” adage.
Edits seem to take the same amount of time. But it’s how many different versions or ideas that can be produced in that time period that has increased. Personally, I have not reduced my rate at all in the NLE world. If anything, adding a $300 software to a MacBook Pro allows me to add more value. We still take about the same time to cut a series of spots. But the amount we get done in that time is far greater (plus the fact I don’t have to be in a facility somewhere to do it).
Scott Witthaus
Senior Editor/Post Production Supervisor
1708 Inc./Editorial
Professor, VCU Brandcenter -
doh!
Scott Witthaus
Senior Editor/Post Production Supervisor
1708 Inc./Editorial
Professor, VCU Brandcenter -
[James Ewart] “Why can’t Apple keep us updated on their plans for the development of the software?”
What publicly traded company does?
Scott Witthaus
Senior Editor/Post Production Supervisor
1708 Inc./Editorial
Professor, VCU Brandcenter -
[James Ewart] “I actually found the Ripple tutorials incredibly helpful however because I could dip in and out. Try stuff out. Go back to it. “
I also found Lynda.com very helpful with both X and Premiere. I like the fact that Lynda is broken down into small chapters that I can easily jump to if I need a refresher. Having a site license for Lynda helps a bunch.
Ripple is fantastic as well.
Scott Witthaus
Senior Editor/Post Production Supervisor
1708 Inc./Editorial
Professor, VCU Brandcenter -
[Oliver Peters] “It’s baloney if we are talking about impact on actual Hollywood.”
That’s funny. Let’s be honest, Oliver. You and I know Avid could give a sh** about “impacting Hollywood”. They are there to move product. It’s more about the impact BECAUSE of Hollywood versus the impact ON Hollywood for Avid. That is what Avid is looking for, and the monopoly Avid has had on Hollywood serves them very well. News like Focus and the Premiere film is more a threat from an image point of view more than revenue.
[Oliver Peters] “And how long do they work on just learning to edit?”
I can usually get them up and running on X after 3 90 minute class sessions and the Lynda.com course (which is about 7 hours of material). After that, that class time is used for finer editing tips, color correction etc. I teach another separate class on concept and visual storytelling. That’s where X has been so much better as it allows me to focus on storytelling faster.
[Oliver Peters] “But, my main focus is teaching editing concepts, NOT teaching software prowess.”
Agreed. Anyone can learn how to operate software. Concept and story execution are another entire deal.
Scott Witthaus
Senior Editor/Post Production Supervisor
1708 Inc./Editorial
Professor, VCU Brandcenter -
[Oliver Peters] “But yes, from an aspirational POV, it’s certainly true and the real point that Apple is promoting.”
So is it baloney or true? That broad-based comment is off base. Again, looking at Avid’s marketing, it is aspirational as well. Avid sells MC and a desktop or laptop as the tools the “pros” use in Hollywood. No on talks about the supporting cast. Should we ask what 3rd party or finishing options all these award winning movies used beyond MC? Did they use the 15 year old Symphony color corrector and Avid FX for the finish? So if one is baloney, so is the other.
[Oliver Peters] “I asked for a show of hands for prior experience. About 3/4 had some experience – mostly FCP 7 or Premiere. A few (3 or 4 per group) were “other” – Vegas, iMovie, etc.”
So basically you have a sample that are predisposed to track based editing. Of course they find X quirky and strange. I certainly don’t think you can draw any conclusions from what could be a tainted pool. Of course they try and force X to do things the “track way” and then get frustrated. I teach 9 months out of the year to students who mostly have no experience in editorial and I find the opposite. Comparing my teaching of Legacy to X, X is learned so much faster with far fewer issues.
[Oliver Peters] “I got plenty of visceral negative responses to using FCP X and Macs, in general.”
See above.
[Oliver Peters] “The elegance of the FCP X interface is also a curse. Because you can open and close panels as needed, students tend to be confused. “
Really? I don’t see this at all. If anything, the elegant interface gets out of the way of telling the story. Of course, my students are required to complete the Lynda.com “FCPX Essentials” class in the first three weeks of the 15 week semester. That probably gets them ahead of the game and less confused. You can set that up pretty easily.
[Oliver Peters] “However, when asking what they would have preferred me to teach (if the option would have been available) the overwhelming comment was Media Composer, when there was a preference.”
Makes sense as they want to be “Hollywood”. My kids, who are advertising master students, have never heard of Media Composer. Sad but true. We have to remember that Hollywood is a niche market. High profile, but niche. Is there a reason you can’t teach MC?
[Oliver Peters] “Honestly for me, this story isn’t important because of FCP X, per se, but the overall workflow. Granted, a lot of that was facilitated by X”
No, this is an FCPX workflow story. How can it not be?
[Oliver Peters] “In both the case of “Gone Girl” and “Focus” the editorial teams went through quite a lot of testing to make sure they didn’t jeopardize the film. They provided valuable feedback to Adobe and Apple (I hope) that will benefit us all. That’s a good thing.”
And in this we agree! 🙂
Scott Witthaus
Senior Editor/Post Production Supervisor
1708 Inc./Editorial
Professor, VCU Brandcenter -
Good read. I find this far less a puff piece than almost every Avid press release (I am a stockholder, so I get those releases via E-Trade). At least there was a bit of workflow in it, versus “Avid Everywhere Takes Over the World” sh**.
The point of this is that where Avid touts “you gotta work with Avid to work in Hollywood” is just not true anymore. You can be Hollywood with a computer and the App Store. Yes, Avid still holds the vast vast majority of that niche but it’s getting bit around the edges.
[Robin S. Kurz] “I for one know from teaching and my trainings first hand, that there are a considerable number of iMovie users of all ages moving to FCP X, yes. It’s the obvious choice (as opposed to e.g. PPro and PElements if you ask me). First timers also will go for X first, because it just makes sense to them and they get results much much faster. The vast majority would never even have considered FCP 7, let alone PPro, even in its current incarnation. Avid is a complete unknown fwiw.”
Agreed. I see this every day. It’s down to PP and X at this point for my students. I think it’s PS and AE that keeps folks I teach on PP, not the editing tool itself. X is the preferred editor where I teach. A push on Motion marketing, integration, and development might just change that even more in favor of X.
Skate to where the puck is going to be….
Scott Witthaus
Senior Editor/Post Production Supervisor
1708 Inc./Editorial
Professor, VCU Brandcenter -
[Dean Neal] “I think Aindreas’ desire to deride FCPX and its relevance or viability has become almost…sexual!
“hmmm…not sure I would use that description, but entertaining nonetheless! 😉
Scott Witthaus
Senior Editor/Post Production Supervisor
1708 Inc./Editorial
Professor, VCU Brandcenter