Simon Ubsdell
5
COW Coins
Forum Replies Created
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Andreas, I find it very curious that so many people think there is going to be a hidden UI that looks like a conventional editor – there really is no evidence at all for this that I have seen. What makes you think this is likely?
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Seriously, if you want those feature NOW – well, most of them – go get yourself iMovie.
I never thought I’d look at it until last week when it became obvious that FCPX was essentially iMovie’s new big brother.
Having started to get used to iMovie, I’ve found there is so much FCPX stuff already in there that is just brilliant, that I’m seriously thinking of using it for my next (not-too-demanding) “pro” project (the only downside being the lack of OMF audio export – yes, it’s got XML export but most of your audio events don’t get carried through).
Do check out the keyboard shortcuts, which make the whole experience much more precise and will change your view of the software.
Check out Ken Stone’s amazingly in-depth review of iMovie for a really good introduction/manual to get you started:
https://www.kenstone.net/fcp_homepage/imovie_09_stone.html
Just to be clear about this (because I can see this comment getting shot down in flames), discovering iMovie has got me seriously enthused about FCPX. I am absolutely not belittling FCPX in making the comparison.
Plus unless I’m completely deluded, I’m getting to learn how it will essentially work and that has to be a good thing.
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[Jerry Hofmann] “If indeed FCP X was really “iMovie Pro”, who cares? What REAL difference does it make? “
I personally don’t care one bit, to be perfectly honest, and I don’t think it was the point that Bret was trying to make in the OP.
I do however think that there is an interesting discussion to be had based on realising the essential sameness of the two apps.
In essence, it seems clear that you can delve into iMovie 11 and experience the “look and feel” of FCPX right now. If you take the trouble to do this, the chances are you will be well ahead of the curve when FCPX comes out in June.
This is not a value judgement – merely an observation that might be useful to anyone interested in the future of FCP. I imagine that would apply to most people following this forum. Understanding the development path of FCPX is probably quite a useful thing to do if you are planning on using the app in the future.
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OK, Andy, so maybe we’re getting “feisty” over semantics here rather than any basic disagreement.
To draw an imperfect analogy, I would argue for example that Baselight for FCP and Autodesk Smoke for Mac are “the same product” as their big and much more expensive brothers, and my guess is the same holds good for iMovie and FCPX, give or take. On your analogy I would disagree and say that the two AVID products are “the same”. But that’s just me!
it is for this reason that I think that iMovie 11 is worth exploring and discussing alongside rumours of FCPX on this brand new forum. Does that sound fair? 😉
What I find curious (and why I was labouring the point rather) is that a lot of folks are discussing FCPX as though it is either a brand new product with no relation to anything that has gone before or that it is somehow an incremental advance on the old FCP. Neither of these positions can be remotely correct surely?
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OK, so you’re right. Looks like FCPX is a bit LESS accommodating than iMovie in this regard. But you have to admit it took some pretty keen observation on your part to notice this subtle difference. I don’t think it changes my fundamental contention that getting to know iMovie now is a pretty good plan in the grand scheme of things.
And it looks like we’re learning who the go-to-guy will be for tips on how to make FCPX work come June! Expect to be very busy!
Hey ho. Off to take that chill pill now 😉
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Yup, I totally agree with that – I was commenting more on the topic in the OP which was the basic identity between the two apps.
Like you I use pretty much all of the rest of the suite all the time and very much depend on it. I have to say I’m finding it very hard at the moment to see how you get from an iMovie like editing application (which may or may not be a great leap forward) back to a situation where you’ve got a more or less integrate suite of apps on the old model (which is now of course also the Adobe model and increasingly well implemented by them)- especially since there was not one single mention of this aspect the other night, whatever may or may not have been dropped in conversation to the Larry Jordan’s of this world. It does seem a rather strange oversight. Why not say: “if you like this why not see wait and see what we’ve done with the other apps?!” But there was none of that.
What seems pretty clear to me is that there is no meaningful sense in which, as has been repeatedly stated on no evidence whatsoever, that Color and Soundtrack Pro have been folded into the new editing app. Nobody seems to have picked up on this yet.
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I’d recommend trying out iMovie 11 to see exactly how the Precision Editor (Trim Tool as we know it!) actually works. Takes a bit of getting used to but it’s a much better approach to trimming than we’ve ever had in the old FCP.
I have to say I was a big fan of AVID’s asymmetrical trim for many years (to the bafflement of most of my editing colleagues) until I got seduced into the FCP camp where I almost never use trim. Which is not to say that I don’t miss it.
I am looking forward very much to the new FCPX/iMovie way of doing things. The cool part, which isn’t immediately obvious, is that you can be in the Precision Editor making trimming decisions while still being able to audition the timeline in the window above – and that’s a really great development which puts the new paradigm ahead of even AVID.
The part that I really want to see working and which we were denied the other night is how you can stop the Timeline rippling! Most of the time I don’t want rippling to take place and I’m sure I’m not alone. It was a bit odd that Randy Ubillos didn’t address this particular concern. No doubt they’ll have fixed it by June 😉
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Great tips, thanks Andy. But interestingly, XML export doesn’t support multiple audio tracks, only the audio from the source clip, no additional laid tracks … Probably shouldn’t draw any inferences from that!
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No, this isn’t just about a “similarity in the graphical interface” as you put it. It’s much more fundamental than that.
They are not “similar products”, they are quite simply the same product – no two ways about it. There are so many points in which they are absolutely identical that it doesn’t make any sense to suggest otherwise.
Have a look at the specific implementation of a) the Magnetic Timeline and b) the Precision Editor (to name only the most obvious points of identity). These are the identical terms used by both applications and function absolutely identically.
In short, FCPX is iMovie with alloy wheels, air con and a bigger engine but otherwise it’s the same model.
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The point I was trying to make was that instead of feverishly speculating about what FCPX may or may not be, why not grab a copy of iMovie 11 (now fortunately unbundled from iLife and very cheap indeed), and start working with it?
Personally I plan on getting as familiar as I can with iMovie so that I am completely at home with this way of editing when FCPX comes along. It does take a bit of getting used to the new timeline, especially the film strip idea for range selection and the Precision Editor, but it feels like it could become very intuitive very quickly. Make no mistake – this is what you are going to have to get used to with FCPX, like it or not. For myself, I reckon I’m going to like it.
There will be more to FCPX obviously (should hope so for an extra $280 odd!), but the basics of how it works are clearly identical.
Frankly, it seems crazy not to take this opportunity to learn and evaluate the “new paradigm” when it’s so easily available.
As to whether Apple have pulled a fast one in serving up iMovie 11 as the new FCP, I don’t really care one way or the other!