Apple's new FCP X FAQ page

Well the XML code was discovered actually in FCPX yesterday so that would probably be one of the things added I'd imagine

Certainly seem to be plenty of reasons to hold off purchase until the dust has well and truly settled, Ron

If one looks at the ladder of Final Cut Pro when it started regards cost. I can see the same formula with this new software. New versions coming out on a yearly bases to start with.
I think we all fall into the trap of the "WOOH" factor. But many knowledge people will not be fooled to dive in.
I think the product looks great and has some excellent features. Plus the cost seems right for newcomers.
I agree 100% with Ron hold fire.

The longer you leave it the further behind you will get. If you are indeed using FCP now it will only be a matter of time until FCP X become a worthy replacement. The dust is settling already and more people are coming round to the new version. The only people who are whinging about it are the people who can't be bothered to learn a new way of working (I understand that fully).
With the software being available through the App store you can bet that updates will be quite frequent not only to add to the program but also to appease the negative feelings around it.

Only time will tell but I can say in a years times there will be many who look back and quote the first release as a failure but will also be embracing what it turns out to be.

It appears you are all for the new software?. Yes, no doubt it will be a great software in years to come.
But those who spent £700 on FCP7 and a year later a new version comes out with some major issues.
One is never to old to learn. It may take longer, plus at my age I got all the time in the world to learn and marvel at the errors I make and the edits I achieve.
FCPX is not a failure it is a new concept of editing and hitting an iceberg.

Phoned Apple Store in Liverpool to see if they had this installed on any of their machines so I could go and have a look.
"No, not yet"

Ron

Ron
Maybe it will be added when all the store machines have OS X 10.7 Lion installed on their hard drives - this is being done off hard drives delivered to the store to image the internal drives of the display Macs with the new software.
Maybe tonight - according to the rumour sites? ;)

Well as for me I am currently having a trial look at premiere pro 5.5 as in a years time I will be pretty good at using it rather than waiting for apple to get their act together with FCPX!

The timelapse in the "view my work" section was largrly done in FCP X. it crashed about 6 times during the making, but, the workflow was pretty easy. I sent bug reports to Apple each time - it did not seem to like importing a QT movie from a windows machine.

Further thoughts on FCP X here

http://www.crumplepop.com/blog/

That is a rather sanitised view of FCP X. No mention of lacking features, and no mention of reliance on 3rd party developers....

I'm convinced (I think), warts and all, particularly as my needs are modest. Would like to see it first though.
I always feel slightly depressed on entering an Apple Store, depression turning to foreboding on being approached by a Sales Assistant. Need I think to have a pretty good idea in advance of what to expect/hope for. This forum very useful in this respect.
Ron

As opposed to some of the more hysterical views which fail to mention the many new features and ignore the fact that many of the lacking features will be reinstated in future upgrades.

Maybe, but my comment is still accurate. Also, i am actually using it. I quite like how intuitive it is.However, it is undoubted that Apple were less than open about its capabilities at the April sneak preview. Also, a lot of those features will not be implemented at all by Apple. The potential is there, but at the moment, it is just potential. On Sunday, it was crashing every few minutes during a simple edit. A lot of users have reported similar findings.

Fair enough but it is always useful to get feedback from a variety of users who have different experiences.

I wish one could get some feedback on those people who use iMovie and are either using FCPX or there opinions.
I think the people who are currently using FCP7 have a good idea were the new software is heading.

We do not know which features, and we do not know when they will be added, or how well they will be implemented.

There's no excuse for FCP X. When Adobe rewrote Premiere from the ground up they still managed to keep all the important functions, and in fact make drastic improvements over what came before.

What FCPX does is gives with one hand and takes with the other.

There seem to be a lot of people who are happy with it and like the new features so it is good to read some other opinions for balance.

I half agree with you Simon, I think Apple's biggest mistake was/is their total failure to communicate what they were doing. Their secrecy works well in the iPhone world but here it has caused anger. If third party developers are so important to a lot of the features, why were they not brought in 6 months ago. this should also have been released with FCP7 still on the market to allow people to test and get use.

Apple have made a huge shift in how edit systems work and I am enjoying using it and hope that the release of Lion today will help (ie versions) They are the only company in the editing market who could take this risk as Adobe and Avid couldn't afford too. Any market needs new ideas and risk takers or it will stagnate. Apple has taken that risk and we will see how it goes. As for their PR on it...well someone needs a rocket

Hi
It may be because Apple weren't/aren't ready with the OS infrastructure and AV Foundation development until OS 10.7 was locked down.

Its one thing to give two individual very experienced long-term plug-in developers access to work-in-progress. Its a totally different thing to let everyone and their dog have access to code that maybe will be totally changed before final release.

How much of all this stuff is there in Lion 10.7.0 right now will give us some insight into the rate of progress on all this. But how much won't be ready until 10.7.4 or 10.7.6?
Time will tell ;)
Marketing wise, Apple blew it! :(

Like i said it would be nice to hear from iMovie users. Why ? Apple introduced way back Final Cut Express for iMovie users to move up into the world of advance editing.
Is this on the same par as iMovie11 for them to change over. By looking at the FCPX software?

I definitely see this as being a likely case,but it may have been prudent to release FCPX as a Beta only at this time with a lot of careful words behind it. They could have halted half their problems

Just noticed on the App Store that FCPX has gone up from £179.99 to £199.99 - that's quite a percentage price hike in less than 1 month! D

The price hike was supposedly to "re-balance prices worldwide to the $". In some countries the price fell.

Apple also have a page that seems to show who the intended market for FCPX users is aimed at.

I just had a look at that page. LOL. Couldn't really see any standout feature that hasn't been in Vegas for years. Quite sad, really

:p

Exactly. Where is the page:

Moving from FCP to Final Cut Pro X.
Step down to another level of video editing with the crippled features in Final Cut Pro X.

Sorry. Feeling a bit ratty with Apple these days. "Rug"? "From under feet"? "Pulled"?

I think we have had some very good constructive advise about this new software. What about some advice for those people using the old system. Stick with it or go head over heals into the new format?.
I know every person has different circumstances, and one cant tell people what to do. But no clear advice is available from the people who work and make there living from using FCP.
My view is stick with what one has and wait for further developments.

I'll be happy to give some clear advice to anyone who requires critical monitoring and the ability to use other software within the workflow: keep using your current system until you NEED to change and then move to a PC set up for use with software from a company that's primary focus is what you use them for, eg high-end editing etc.

Apple is no longer interested in professionals (their balance sheet shows why!), so don't cripple your own potential by sticking with them. D

Maxwell, head over to the FCPX download page on the Mac App store and read the comments from actual downloaders of FCPX - the 'Comments' section will give you the best info.

It was running at 70/30 against, it's now nearer 50/50

Don't be sad - there are plenty of people using FCP X who love the new features!

Good honest advice.Thank You.

It's also worth bearing in mind that thosewho shout loudest are usually the ones who complain. People often don't bother to post feedback onthings they are happy with ( and this is true of all sorts of products - not just software). There are probably many more people using FCP X who are using it successfully and don't feel the need to shout it from the rooftops. I used the word 'hysterical' before to describe some of the reaction - it was partly tongue-in-cheek but having read some responses, that's maybe not far from the truth. It's also amusing that people who don't like it can't seem to accept that what they say is their opinion - Others may have different ones.

Yes, there are a lot of features, but there are also a lot of missing ones!

Stuart, imagine that you have just moved from a PC to a Mac, so you don't have any previous video related software to fall back on. You purchase FCPX and a client asks you to make them a DVD complete with custom menus etc. What do you do?

Oh yes, you need to buy a third party piece of software like Encore. The need to do this shows just why Apple are not living in the real world.

i don't care how many new features are in FCPX because in most core areas such as handling formats from all sorts of different cameras it falls flat. Tell me, how do you select what version of Prores FCPX will transcode footage to on import?

What good are new features if all the essential old ones that are necessary to handle everything you need to throw at it are completely ditched.

I have read positive reviews of FCPX, but many of them have a subnote at the end that says "...but I won't be deploying it to use every day for my professional work." or some equivalent.

Or they got a refund. If you have replaced your old software and are using FCPX in a professional environment I wish you luck. Lots of it.

Are you actually using it Stuart, or are your comments based on what you have read? I just wondered, because, I have tried to be open minded in my approach to using it. However, the first small project that I tried to work on was interrupted by constant crashing on a very powerful, freshly-installed, clean iMac i5 with 12gb ram. That is not "shouting the loudest" or hysterical. Nor is it an opinion. It is something that often blights first-releases, so, it is why we are not using it for anything major. if you are using it, have you found things to be similar, or not?

I think the way that Apple has implemented the introduction of FCP X, and has alienated broadcast users cannot be denied. Whilst some comments have been a bit misguided from certain reviewers, the overall message has been based on how they perceive it will affect them - and often that is clearly drastically. No external monitor support and no import of FCP 7 projects are definitely deal breakers in the serious production world. Wedding video producers, and corporate producers may have a different view - and that may well be the target market.

I have not downloaded it yet so have no opinion on what it can or can't do. As I said earlier, I'm trying to redress the balance a bit here. I've read loads about it and as I have said, there are many people who like the new version but the feedback on this forum has been predominately negative.

I fully accept that there are flaws and failing but I also think that anyone reading this forum will not get a true feeling for it as there are many other places where people are using it successfully. Having said that, anyone who bases their research on any product on one forum hasn't really done much in the way of research so that's their lookout, really.

Oh dear. How can you redress the balance based on hearsay? The feedback on here has been based on what people want, and what they use - and what is plainly not in the programme. You can't base a professional business on editing with a software package which MAY have some features added in a later release at some indeterminate time - or never at all. it is also false to think that editors will stay with FCP7 for any length of time. Yes, it still works, but, in computer terms, it is very old - not using the power of the host computer is a big big issue. That is why many serious users feel disappointed. They have invested years in supporting Apple, and feel like they have had a rug pulled away from under them. the market that Apple is seeking may well be different, and that is a commercial decision. In April, Apple flaunted it as sliced bread - and deliberately made no mention of what things would be missing. Why do you think that is? In my opinion, I felt misled by their presentation.

At least I have used the software "in anger". I would not dream of using it at the moment for a hefty project, but, it is OK to dip a toe in the water. The crashing is not uncommon, so I understand. A bug fix or 2 is needed rapidly, that is for sure. I can see some benefits, like I have said. i also predict that we will use it for some things from now on (bug fixes permitting). Whether it will be our editor of choice - debatable.

I have been referring to experiences posted by others elsewhere on the Internet. Is that heresay? Is it any more or less heresay than the experiences posted here?

Hi
Here's the lowdown on external monitoring - not necessarily worse. Just totally different:
http://www.philiphodgetts.com/2011/07/more-on-final-cut-pro-xs-monitoring-solution/

I've been shouting this out - "no way, never..." on Creative Cow:
http://forums.creativecow.net/readpost/335/11655
Disclaimer: I know nothing, I just read what others are writing... ;)

I think Hallmark has summed it up perfectly.

We want to utilise the power of our Quad-Core MacPro and FCP7 doesn't do that. We can't move over to FCPX for many of the reasons mentioned here and on other forums. This has left us looking seriously at Adobe CS5.5 especially with the 50% off offer they are currently running.

As I've previously stated, I think Apple are being very short sighted abandoning the pro users that bought Apple products way back before the iPod, iPhone etc. This group of customers are loyal but now Apple are in danger of losing them. I don't think Apple will have that kind of loyalty with their iPhone and iPad customers.

FCPX may well become the product it ought to be, but why release something that's not ready? We've all waited long enough for an update to FCP.

No one knows what Apple's real target customer is with FCPX - prosumer or pro? This has been a PR disaster for Apple, unless of course as some have suspected they really do intend to abandon the pro market altogether.

You don't define "successfully". Are these people who make a living from needing to edit video, or merely people who like it for editing their home videos from their DSLR?

Thing is though, I don't fully subscribe to the idea that Apple want to abandon pro users. My reasons are that Apple want to give an overall computing experience. Many of the people who buy their pro computers are also business users of iPhones and iPads. Apples pro apps on their own are still a sizeable income. A while ago the rough figures were posted up somewhere by an Apple guy. It was still an area of their business that would be noticeable if they lost it.

I do think however that Apple are misguided. I think that they think they can converge the professional and the prosumer and kill two birds with one stone.

"Successfully" for me means being able to use it in a way that gets results in a way that was more efficient and/or better than before. For many users, that is not possible yet - especially if the crashing that I experienced is representative of what others are seeing.

prosumer/Professional - is that not already possible with other software, like Premiere and (less so) Sony Vegas? Depends what level you set Professional at, I suppose.

I still think I got it at a good value price though - no-one on here seems to have commented on whether they have done the same?

Would any person know if any representative from "Apple" read any of these debates?.
One comment was made other companies in the field of editing software cant afford to be complacent.
It seems to be "Apple" have got to big for their boots. With cash flowing in. They certainly have revolutionised the computer market and given us some innovating software.
Has the present trend of editing outstayed its welcome or can they see more ££££££ signs with this new software once the shouting stops.

There was some interesting comment from the guy who came up with Shake. When Apple took it over he said that whenever they had meetings the execs only want to hear about features that would look good in a demo. So small but highly essential useful stuff would get pushed aside in favour of features that created a 'wow' effect at demos.

Which ties in exactly with the propaganda in April.

However, the really clever point about that would be the likelihood of increased sales which in turn reveal the very attributes that are being thought of here to an even larger market . . . One of Apple's success ways of recent times?

However - I'm one of those who hasn't purchased and will wait a while.