Final Cut Pro X due out next week?

[Candlelight]

http://www.macrumors.com/2011/06/14...rty-thunderbolt-peripherals-coming-next-week/

Japanese blog Macotakara reports that Apple is apparently set to launch its new Final Cut Pro X offerings next week, to be accompanied by the release of a number of new Thunderbolt-equipped accessories from third-party vendors.

Apple demoed Final Cut Pro X back in mid-April, announcing that the professional video production software would launch on the Mac App Store in June priced at $299. Apple has yet to release any official word on the other components of its Final Cut Studio package or its lighter-weight Final Cut Express software. A number of screenshots from Final Cut Pro X and related applications have also leaked in recent days just ahead of the software's launch, but the full details remain unknown.

Can't wait, although typically I'm away next week on a course so won't have much time for tinkering.

Or posting here.

Dammit.

 

[Mr. B]

I'll be curious to see what the wide reaction is to FCP X. Removing the source monitor strikes me as a terrible idea, but that's just based on my limited experience with Avid.

 

[Tom Hendricks]

I was up in the air and I have decided to go ahead an purchase it. I may run it in tandem with my current FCP.

 

[Candlelight]

I'll be curious to see what the wide reaction is to FCP X. Removing the source monitor strikes me as a terrible idea, but that's just based on my limited experience with Avid.

I've worked on a system years ago that didn't have a source monitor, and at first I was skeptical, but after a while you get used to it.

Background rendering and 64bit are the big gains for me.

 

[Mr. B]

I was up in the air and I have decided to go ahead an purchase it. I may run it in tandem with my current FCP.

I was perusing some video editing forums recently and several people were talking about how they would need to run FCP 7 along with the new version because of features that have been removed like tape capture... seems like standard procedure for Apple to pull features from products prematurely.

 

[Tom Hendricks]

Well they released Final Cut Pro X, I have played around with it for a little bit. While I'm not sold on the iMovie interface. I have changed a few things to make it look more like FCP, it is super FAST. The background rendering is simply amazing. No longer waiting for things to render, is amazing.

The one thing I don't really like is the discontinued use of FCP Server. I used that a lot, it allowed me to check out footage on my MBP and edit in Starbucks or clients offices. I'm really going to miss that.

I'm going to edit a full project on it in the next few days and after I do that, I will return with a full evaluation.

 

[Candlelight]

No timecode control for input or output to tape. My company won't even look at buying it.

 

[T'Baio]

Anyone have anymore thoughts on Final Cut X?

The reviews in general that it's been getting have been scathing, but a lot of the complaints I've been reading don't seem to be things that would affect me. Multicam doesn't matter to me, import of legacy projects doesn't matter to me as an FCE user, and it's totally understandable with the software being a phase 1 rewrite, anyway. Only one viewer window I think I could get used to.

I edit my web series on FCE, and I hope that FCX is a major step up. Utilization of ProRes would be nice, 24p, better audio editing capabilities, background render, even the magnetic timeline seems like something I'd like.

But if it's actually buggy and the like, that's something different altogether and not something I want to put up with. I've been doing fine with FCE all this time, but would like to upgrade to have more options and to eliminate some annoyances.

So are there anymore thoughts? Thanks.

 

[Tom Hendricks]

I'm working on a project on FCPX right now. Will be done in a few hours and I will be back with a full review.

 

[T'Baio]

Awesome! Looking forward to it!

 

[Tom Hendricks]

I started to write this a couple of times and had to stop. I had to stop and think about it some more. I will start with this, if Apple never made FCP and only made iMovie. This would be a significant upgrade, putting Apple so close to an actual professional video editing software. The raw power behind FCPX is truly amazing, I can't believe how fast it is now. However I equate it with putting the Corvette engine in a Camaro, it just seams wrong. All I can say is that FCPX doesn't FEEL like a professional video editing software. Maybe because I don't equate iMovie with being a REAL video editing software, I have this prejudice. Also they have the history of FCP, it's not like they introduced a new product. I know Apple likes to do away with the old (ie. floppy drive) and move on, however to totally abandon what made FCP amazing is short sighted. Also with having so much history with FCP, why would you make a piece of software that feels rushed into production and behind a few versions. I especially dislike the abandonment of using FCP Server. I personally use this alot, so I will miss it.

I'm still undecided what I'm going to do, I think I want to edit a few more things in FCPX before I make my final decision. Can I recommend it? Only if your new to editing and this will be your first foray into it or moving up from imovie. Then yes, go for it. Otherwise I'm hesitate to recommend.

 

[T'Baio]

Do you think it's even a step down from Final Cut Express?

 

[Tom Hendricks]

In thinking about it, FCPX is probably perfect for you. I think in a lot of ways FCPX and FCPE are more akin to each other. I think you would probably benefit from FCPX, because you need to upgrade anyway at some point soon.

 

[Mr. B]

Not that Reddit is a represenative cross-section of users, but the talk there is almost entirely negative.

http://www.reddit.com/r/videos/comments/i8343/hilarious_conan_skit_on_apples_new_final_cut_pro/

 

[Small White Car]

Anyone have anymore thoughts on Final Cut X?

I don't have time to write more, but here's the best way to look at it:

2007 iPhone -> 2011 iPad

Final Cut Pro X today -> ?

This is the way I see it. FCP X is a lot like the first iPhone. It's an amazing, groundbreaking thing that's missing a ton of crap. A lot of people think it can't grow. I think it can and will.

I'm very excited by it, but I don't think I'll care too much until 2012 and, really, probably not a whole lot 'till 2013.

As I read somewhere, Apple pissed off a few thousands pros to make millions of consumers happy. This is true. But what I don't think is that Apple has abandoned the pros.* I think we will just have to wait a bit longer.

That being said, Apple was stupid. This should be Final Cut Pro X Express and they should have told us Final Cut Pro X is coming in 2012. Everything works out EXACTLY the same as I think it will but everyone would be a lot happier today.


* What do I mean? Well this blog is the best complaint I've read. Everything in there is right. Well, he's right about the problems. He's wrong that the solutions are as far away as he thinks. Take the way that all media is displayed at once: He calls that an "absolutely crippling design flaw." Design flaw implies that it'd be hard to change...that you'd have to rip the program apart and start over. Nonsense. He's clearly never used Aperture because that's all Apple has to do: Give Final Cut Pro X the ability to switch libraries in the exact same way Aperture does it. Aperture also displays "all my media at once" but it has a way to switch libraries. Actually, now that I think about it, iTunes has this ability too. Clearly Apple understands how to do it. This is why I think some people are going overboard. Yes, the problems are real. No, they're not as impossible to fix as some people think.

 

[Candlelight]

As a production company employee who still uses tape to deliver to the network, we will be staying with FCP 6 (yeah, I said 6) for the foreseeable future. Our Avid suites were getting less and less work - now I can only see them getting more.

 

[Small White Car]

As a production company employee who still uses tape to deliver to the network, we will be staying with FCP 6 (yeah, I said 6) for the foreseeable future. Our Avid suites were getting less and less work - now I can only see them getting more.

Why? Final Cut 6 was apparently working so well for you that you didn't even upgrade to 7. (We haven't either, actually.)

Why would you all of a sudden stop using those computers? It still works just the same as always. Kind of like how it kept working when they came out with Final Cut 7 and neither of us upgraded.

 

[Candlelight]

Ok, let me rephrase; IF we were to upgrade our suites to X (as some people upstairs are pushing for) then they'd be used for everything and then once finished, assuming we've onlined in the suite, we'd have to produce an uncompressed file to transfer to an avid for export to tape. Which sucks.

If we're not onlining in the suite (we have a Quantel eQ for that) then we'd be ok.

Us in the know won't let that happen however. It's funny how fancy new equipment can dazzle people. I know we'd probably have to get a copy eventually cos we'll probably get sent FCPX projects to work with.

Hell we get FCP7 projects come into the building and have no way to deal with them properly (I hate XML imports).

 

[Stone_Cold_Sisko]

Anyone have anymore thoughts on Final Cut X?

I don't have time to write more, but here's the best way to look at it:

2007 iPhone -> 2011 iPad

Final Cut Pro X today -> ?

This is the way I see it. FCP X is a lot like the first iPhone. It's an amazing, groundbreaking thing that's missing a ton of crap. A lot of people think it can't grow. I think it can and will.

I'm very excited by it, but I don't think I'll care too much until 2012 and, really, probably not a whole lot 'till 2013.

As I read somewhere, Apple pissed off a few thousands pros to make millions of consumers happy. This is true. But what I don't think is that Apple has abandoned the pros.* I think we will just have to wait a bit longer.

That being said, Apple was stupid. This should be Final Cut Pro X Express and they should have told us Final Cut Pro X is coming in 2012. Everything works out EXACTLY the same as I think it will but everyone would be a lot happier today.

The problem is it's replacing a software that already had all of that crap in it. You can no longer buy new licenses of FCP7 from Apple... that's a pretty clear message that this IS the new Final Cut Pro, not a new version of Express.

I think they should quietly let pro users continue buying 7 licenses until they release a more feature rich software.

 

[Candlelight]

Well they're gonna realise pretty quickly when people start switching to Avid.